Children of Potter
by Owl and Crow
Summary: The next generation in the Harry Potter world. Crazy James Sirius Potter, naughtly Lily Luna Potter and sensible Albus Severus Potter. Find out what it's like being raised by Ron and Hermione and what Oliver Wood's done to his poor children!
1. Girls, Boys and James Potter

"The simply things in life, like girls and knickers get exponentially more complicated as you get older." – Danielle Juarez

A/N: This is the sequel to Harrowing the Dragon. You should read Harrowing the Dragon, because it is a good story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, but if I did you can bet that Remus and Tonks wouldn't have died.

The Children of Potter

**Chapter One**

Girls, Boys and James Potter

James Potter liked girls. He had always been fond of girls, even his little sister, Lily. Sure they could be annoying at times, but for the most part he liked them. They were easy to get mad, easy to play with, they were like boys, except they were girls. As he got older he began to realize that he really liked to look at girls. They were different from boys and that baffled James. He always sort of knew that girls were different from boys, why else would they be called girls instead of boys?

James Potter was seven (going to be eight in three days) when he finally asked his father, Harry Potter, why girls were called girls and boys were called boys. He also wanted to know why he liked looking at girls' knickers so much. Girls always wore pretty knickers. Pink little knickers with flowers all over them, or sometimes with pictures of princesses from stories, or his favorite plain white knickers. James Potter liked simple knickers.

On a girl of course.

He did not really see their appeal if he was just holding a pair.

James looked up at his father. He had yet to answer his son, and said son was getting antsy. James did not like sitting still, something his mother always told him was going to be a problem when he finally went off to school. But he had plans with his brother to go search for his presents. Asking his father why girls always wore the prettiest knickers had been an afterthought.

An ill advised decision it seemed.

He had just asked in passing, expecting a simple two or three word answer that he could absorb and then move on with the rest of his day. But his father seemed to think differently. Harry had pulled him into his office and sat him down on one of the plush leather chairs in his cozy office. James started to kick his legs, effectively marking up the once flawless leather chair. His father did not seem to notice, so James continued.

Harry was pacing. He would stop every once and a while, start to say something and then stop, shake his head and keep on pacing. James did not see what the big deal was. If he was not supposed to know what made him like girls so much, then he guessed that would be okay.

Maybe he could ask Teddy.

Teddy seemed to like girls just as much as James. He was always talking about girls. But James thought, maybe that was just something that fourteen year olds were supposed to do. Teddy really did not talk about lots of girls, the way James tended to. He only really talked about Victoire. James did not see his cousin as all that appealing. He never once saw her knickers, for starters and she was his cousin, she might as well not be a girl as far as James was concerned. Like his sister. Sure she looked like a girl and people called her a girl, but that did not make her a girl.

As Harry continued to pace, James started separating the girls in his life into two groups. Girls he liked to look at. And girls that really did not count as girls, or girls he did not like to look at. He was seven after all, almost eight, it was time he got this sort of thing sorted out. Girls he liked to look at had to be pretty, with pretty knickers. Girls he did not like to look at involved….. Well, just about any girl he was related to.

Finally Harry stopped, knelt in front of James and grabbed his shoulders.

"What exactly do you want to know?" Harry asked. James blinked at his father. In his mind he could not have been clearer.

"Why are girls called girls and boys called boys?" James asked again, only this time louder and slower. Harry closed his eyes and sighed.

"Yes, I know that question."

"Then answer it." James Potter was nothing if not direct.

"Girls are called girls because they were born that way-" Harry began

"What way?"

"With girl parts." James squinted at his father and let the term 'girl parts' roll around in his head for a while.

"What are girl parts?" he asked. Harry straightened up and rubbed his hands all over his face. James knew this gesture, his father only did it when he was not sure how to answer something. Harry started pacing again.

"You've seen how your mother and I are different, physically, haven't you?" he asked. James tipped his head to the side and thought.

"Mum's shorter than you and has long hair. I suppose she's differently shaped, like Aunt Hermione or Aunt Luna. They've all got boobies, which you haven't got," James said.

"You won't get boobies." Harry stopped pacing and stood in front of James.

"Well, I know that much. Boobies are girl thing. Only girls get them. Like pink knickers, only girls get pink knickers," James pointed out, in case his father did not know.

"Yes, that is true. Boobies, or breast, are considered girl parts. Only girls have them-" Harry began.

"What about that bloke down at the market, he's got boobies, but I know he's a boy, he's got a beard and everything-" James said as the thought struck him, maybe boobies were not just a girl thing.

"Yes, yes, I know, and believe me he knows too. But he hasn't got proper breasts and he's only got them because he's fat. Boys aren't supposed to have breasts only girls are. Breasts are something that makes girls different from us boys. There is also another part of a girl that makes her different from a boy-"

"Which girl are you talking about?"

"All girls."

"Oh. What is it then?"

"Bugger," Harry mumbled under his breath. He knelt down in front of James again. "It's called a…… bugger."

"A bugger?" James asked in disbelief, he always thought those came out of your nose. And if he got buggers, it made sense that girls would too. Buggers could not be something that made boys different from girls. Not if he got them too.

"No, not a bugger. It's called a vagina," Harry said, patting James on the knee.

"A vagina," James said. He thought on that word. It sounded familiar. "I think Teddy's talked about one of those before." Harry's eyes got wide. "He said that he liked them, even though they were funny looking. At least I think that's what he said."

"I'm going to have to have a chat with Teddy."

"What is a vagina?" Harry sighed again and scratched his head.

"You know where your penis is?" he asked.

"You mean Henry?" James asked.

"What?!"

"I named it. Teddy said that he named his, so I named mine. It's name is Henry," James said.

"Brilliant. Well, girls don't have penises."

"Well, I knew that. Penises are like boobies to boys, only we get them."

"Yes, instead of penises girls get vaginas. In the same place that a penis would be. Between the legs," Harry said, somewhat unsure.

"Oh, so that's what knickers cover up?"

"Yes."

"What do vaginas do?" James asked.

"Come again?"

"Penises are for peeing with. What do vaginas do?" James asked, again.

"Vagina's are for peeing with as well," Harry said.

"Oh."

"And for having babies-"

"How do babies come from a vagina?" James asked.

"Do you remember when your mum had Lily?" Harry asked.

"Sure! She got real fat for a couple months but you told me I couldn't call her fat even though she was." Harry tried to stop his son, to make a point, but it was like trying to stop a speeding train by stepping in front of it. There was just no stopping James Potter once he got started. "Then we went to the hospital for hours and hours. And I got real tired until Teddy taught me how to nick sugar cubes from the Tea Room. And then you took me and Al into a room where mum was holding Lily." Harry opened his mouth. "And when I asked you where Lily came from, you said she came from mum. And-"

"She did," Harry said, quickly. "Your mum was so fat because Lily was growing inside of her, and as Lily grew bigger, your mum got fatter." James' eyes got wide.

"Lily was inside of mum?" He asked, slowly.

"Yes," Harry said.

"Was I inside of mum?"

"Yes."

James sat quietly for quite a while staring at his father. He eventually squinted at Harry in disbelief. "Well, if that's true, how did we get out? Was Al inside of mum? Why weren't we inside of you? How did we get there?" he asked.

"Yes, Albus was inside of mum too. You weren't inside of me because only girls can have babies. I don't have the proper parts to have a baby and nor do you. Having babies is something only girls can do, when they reach a certain age. When a man and a woman get married they do something called sex, which I'll tell you about when you're older. And babies come from sex and come out of mums through their vaginas."

"That's where all babies come from?"

"Yes."

"So, I came from mum's vagina?" James asked.

"Yes."

"I don't remember that."

"Well, you were very little when it happened," Harry said.

"How little?"

"Not even a second old, James, we'll talk about this some more as you get older. Now, that's in generally why girls are called girls and boys are called boys. Now, you like knickers so much probably because someday, a long while from now, you'll have feelings for a girl like I have for your mum. And you'll get married and have babies, a long, long time from now."

James sat quietly again. "So, girls are called girls because they have vaginas and boys are called boys because we have penises? And I like knickers because I want to get married and have babies someday?" he asked.

"Yes," Harry said, standing up.

"Well, why couldn't you just say that?" James demanded standing up. "I have presents to find." He slipped past his father and out the door to Albus who had been sitting there waiting.

"So, why do we find knickers so…… I dunno cool?" Albus asked as he and James scurried down the hall.

"Dad said its because we want to get married and have babies when we grow up," James said.

"Why'd it take so long to find that out?"

"Well, you know Dad, don't you?"

Harry leaned against the doorway to his office and muttered, "I am so screwed."


	2. Kira's Knickers

"Don't doubt the effects of plain white knickers." – Danielle Juarez

**Chapter Two**

Kira's Knickers

James Potter had forgotten how to use his legs. This had only happened twice before in his life. The first time was on his eight birthday when his father got him a "grown up" broom, as he called it. He stood frozen for a few minutes, before screaming his exaltation to the sky and running outside to try his new toy out.

The second time was in his first year at Hogwarts, when Stephen Wood, Oliver Wood's son and captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, told him that he would be following in his father's footsteps as Gryffindor's Seeker. Again he was stuck in a few minutes of frozen glee and only snapped out of it when Stephan walked away embarrassed for both of them.

But this time was different, this time was because of…… her.

James met Kira Fitzsimmons on the train his first year. They had high jacked the food cart and received their first detentions together before even stepping foot in Hogwarts. They had been inseparable ever since and caused about as much havoc as they could. James had never thought of her as anything except his best friend, she was a girl that did not count as a girl. And for James' first five years at Hogwarts that had worked out fine for both of them.

James looked from the tips of his shoes to where his best friend lay toppled on the floor of the Common Room. Up his eyes went past her knee high socks, over her creamy thighs dotted with light brown freckles to the cause of his paralysis.

White, cotton knickers.

James' favorite kind. Because James Potter liked simple knickers.

He liked them when he was a kid and he sure as hell like them now.

Kira started shaking and James shook himself out of his knickers induced trance. "You all right, Kira?" he asked, kneeling next to her. She blew her blood red hair out o her face and smiled up at him. Her dark blue eyes gleamed with mirth and melted James into a puddle of goo.

How come he never noticed how pretty she was?

His head was spinning with wonderment as she placed her delicate hand on his shoulder to stand up. She straightened her skirt, covering up her plain knickers and causing James a great deal of distress. He looked up at her pretty round face, smattered with freckles and gulped. She grinned and started laughing.

"You look like someone just stole your best friend, away. I'm the one who fell on her face, if anyone gets to feel bad it's me," she said with a slight Irish accent that James just realized was adorable.

James was stunned, mostly because he could not ever remember thinking anything was adorable.

"Are _you_ all right, Potter? I may have tripped on the rug like the klutz that I am, but you look like you might have had a stroke."

James blinked and shook his head. "Whaa… hum…ahh…" he said. Kira laughed again.

"There he is! James Potter the man we know and love, back to his old eloquent self. I was worried about you, mate."

James got to his feet, only just realizing that he was still on the floor. He could feel the heat in his cheeks and silently chastised himself for acting like a fool in front of her, even though he had acted like a fool in front of her millions of times. He wanted Kira to think highly of him, even though he knew she already did.

"Why you looking at me like that, Potter? Do I have dirt or something on my face?" she asked.

James noticed with an unnatural interested that she did indeed have some dirt on her face. There smudged on her bottom lip was a tiny smear of dirt. James had the sudden uncontrollable urge to wipe away that smudge so that he could run his fingers over her plump, pink lips. James stepped closer to her and reached out.

"Yes, actually. You do have dirt… on your face," he said, trying to sound charming.

"Oh," she said, obviously put off by the way he was acting.

"Let me." James cupped her cheek and slowly, as to savor every moment of his finger on her mouth, he wiped away the dirt.

Kira stepped out his embrace and gave him a disturbed look he was sure he deserved. This was probably the first time since they met that he treated her like……… a girl. James mental kicked himself for not realizing just that years ago.

"You're being really weird, James. Like more than usual. But I'm going to let you off the hook this time, because we're running late for Charms. And I know, I know, who cares if we're late for Charms, but we've already got three detentions this week and I'm not looking to make it four……"

She kept talking, James was almost sure of it, but she had turned away from him and he got distracted by her bum. So much so that he did not move until said bum was gone from his sight. He blinked a few times and walked out of the Common Room only to bump right into Kira, knocking them both over.

James' body covered hers and in the moments before she pushed him off, he relished in how nice it felt to have her wiggling underneath him. He lay on the floor looking up her skirt while she dusted her self off and muttered about how stupid he was.

"Come on, James! Get up!" she said, leaning down to shove him. He got a glimpse down her shirt and nearly swallowed his tongue. James Potter saw his best friends full, freckle covered, bra bound breasts and he could not wait until he got another look…… or maybe a feel.

Kira Fitzsimmons was gorgeous and he had just realized it.

"Let's ditch," he said. He needed more time alone with her.

"If you get one more detention Wood's not going to let you play on Saturday and if you don't play, Gryffindor will lose to bloody Hufflepuff. And no one wants that, so come on, we might be able to talk our ways out of this." She walked away again.

James scrambled to his feet and followed her round, pert rump all the way to Charms. Kira, being the more persuasive or annoyingly persistent of the two of them, did indeed talk Flitwick out of giving them detentions, even though they were twenty minutes late for class.

James did not have the attention span to be terribly grateful, though. He spent most of class staring in Kira's general direction. She was too smart of her own good and would have noticed if he had been staring directly at her.

She flicked at piece a rolled up piece of paper at him. James knew she had written him a note, but he was too distracted by how intimate it felt to have her passing notes with him to open it. He grinned at her and she squinted at him. Kira grabbed the note she had written and threw it directly at his face.

James blinked and finally read it.

_You're being really weird. What's up with you?_

James blinked again. Bugger, he thought. He could not possibly tell her he liked looking at her knickers and suddenly found out that she was beautiful. Maybe if just ignored her note, she would let it go.

Kira made a frustrated noise when she realized that he was not going to write her back and punched him in the leg. He captured her hand and pressed it against him, loving the feeling of her long slender fingers gripping his muscular leg. She pulled her hand away and punched him in the shoulder.

Merlin he just wanted to grab her and snog her, right there in the middle of class. James let his mind wander towards dirty desires, thinking avidly about what he would like to do to her knickers. With her still wearing them, of course.

Bugger, James thought. He either needed her to touch him again or he needed to go to his dorm for a wank. She was driving his crazy, by just acting the way she usually did. Slightly annoyed, yet genuinely happy to see him.

She growled and James grimaced, his trousers were getting tighter. Kira leaned closer, James looked down her shirt. "What is wrong with you?!" she demanded, in a very annoyed whisper.

"Merlin, you smell good…" he whispered back. Her eyes narrowed at him. James squeezed his eyes shut when he realized what he had said. She did smell good, but that was not something he needed to tell her. Not at the moment anyway.

"Are you drunk?" she asked.

James sucked in a breath. He really was not handling this well. In the past when he liked a girl he would just walk up to her, ask her out and then snog her in the broom closet.

James' eyes got wide, as he stared at Kira. She just kept getting more and more attractive. If she did not stop James would end up doing something stupid. Well, stupider than anything he had not already done.

"Yes," James said, lying to her for the first time in their five years as best friends. "I'm drunk."

Kira sighed and shook her head in amusement. "Well, why didn't you offer any to me?"

James gulped. She was perfect.

---

Albus Potter waited patiently for Transfiguration to be over. He had a natural flair for the class and found the experience of being stuck doing spells that were so obviously beneath him, tedious. Professor Sandra Snodgrass was droning on and on about theories, her favorite subject. Albus did not want to hear about what was possible, he just wanted to do it.

But he was the most patient of the Potter children and thus, went to all of his classes and rarely got in trouble. (And when he did it was for innocent things, like he stayed in the library studying until it closed). Unlike his older brother. Even little thirteen year old Lily seemed to have a knack for disobedience.

While Albus stuck between two trouble makers was praised by his professors for being not only a good student, but for being a good kid. Every time a professor asked James or Lily why they could not be more like Albus, the fourteen year old Potter was often on the receiving end of a hex. In fact Albus could not count the number of Howlers his parents had sent James for sending his younger brother to the Hospital Wing.

It was never anything painful, just embarrassing. Like the time James turned Albus' skin orange, because professor caught him and Kira Fitzsimmons Charming all the food at the Slytherin table to blow up whenever someone tried to eat it. Professor Arnold Alcorn, the Potion professor, asked James why he could not be a good student like Albus.

Albus used to be plenty reckless, but after his first time writing lines in detention he really was not interested in repeating the experience. Much to his parents' relief. During the summer he often acted as the mediator between his parents and James and Kira (who always spent most of summer and Christmas with the Potters).

But Albus was not in the mood to dwell on his brother or even his parents because sitting next to him was the one and only Daisy Doe. She studied with him every Saturday at exactly one P.M., for exactly four hours in the back of the library and had done so for two years. And she ended every study session since their second year the same way.

First she would compliment him on staying out of trouble or always having his homework done in advance. Her compliments were lackluster, but always heart felt. To be honest, Albus did not care much what she was complimenting him about, only that he had pleased her.

Then she would place one of her small hands on his. Slowly she would mover her plump fingers up over his arm (this was why Albus did one hundred push ups a day) to his shoulder. She would slowly and shyly lean towards him and kiss his cheek. After that the little Ravenclaw would scurry away blushing.

Albus turned to Daisy. She was bent over taking notes, her pretty, curly strawberry blonde hair obscured his view of her face. But that did not matter. Albus knew her round shaped face by heart. Hell, he knew her from the tips of her toes to her button shaped nose. She was barely five foot and even at fourteen Albus towered over her. She was curved in all the right places, if she ever bent over in front of him, well, his trousers would get tighter. In Albus' good opinion she was divine. Absolutely perfect in every way. Now, if only she would kiss him properly.

Albus fancied the idea of turning his head as she lay her bow shaped mouth on his cheek and catching her lips with his. But he did not want to startle her. She thought he was a good boy and he wanted her to keep thinking that.

Everyone thought he was a good boy, but secretly he was a very, very bad boy. He never acted on any of his naughty impulses, so he was not half as bad as his brother. But every time innocent Daisy Doe laid her pretty lips on his cheek, his every thought was on pulling her into his arms and ruining her innocent image.

Hell, he thought about it every time she was close to him. And did not stop thinking about it until he had at least twenty minutes of alone time in the shower.

She drove him crazy and he loved every minute of it.

He would spend every minute of every day in her presence if he could, but she was a Ravenclaw and he was a Gryffindor. She was half a castle away most of the time.

Albus turned his attention away from Daisy. If he spent much more time thinking about her he did not doubt that he would have to spend lunch in the shower. He pulled a quill out and started taking notes on Professor Snodgrass' favorite theory.

The door to the classroom slammed open. Professor Snodgrass stopped abruptly. And in strolled James Potter. Albus closed his eyes and prayed to Merlin that his brother was just playing another prank and would leave him alone. But no such luck, James grabbed his little brother by the front of his robes and pulled him out of his chair.

"I'm just going to barrow this for a moment," James told Professor Snodgrass. "My father, _Harry Potter_, wrote me an urgent letter and I need to pass on its contents to my dear, baby brother. I'll have him back in a minute…… maybe." With that, James pulled Albus out of class.

Albus looked back at Daisy. She was giving him a concerned look. Apparently, she believed James' lie, Albus, on the other hand, knew better.

As soon as the door to the classroom closed, Albus turned on his brother. "What'd you do that for?!" he demanded. "You're going to get me in trouble."

"Well, it's about time somebody did," James snapped. "You're a bloody goodie two shoes and all for some girl."

"Daisy Doe is not just some girl-"

"Daisy Doe! Her name is Daisy Doe! You have got to be kidding me, Al! You want me to take her seriously with a name like Daisy Doe?" James demanded.

Albus crossed his arms. It figured that James did not get it. His older brother old liked girls just long enough to get them into broom closets. The fact that Albus liked spending time with a girl (outside of broom closets) would fall on deaf ears.

"What do you want? And don't give me any cock and bull story about a letter from Dad, because we both know it isn't true," Albus said. James closed his mouth and scowled.

"I have a problem," James said, begrudgingly.

"Big of you to admit it," Albus said.

"Would you shut up and let me tell you what my problem is?" James asked.

"I already know that you're a big headed git, you don't need to tell me," the younger boy snapped. James rolled his eyes.

"And Mum and Dad think you're the good child."

"Compared to you and Lily, I am."

"And all for," James clasped his hands together and placed them by his cheek, "_Daisy Doe_!" He said her name in a high pitched, girly voice.

Albus scowled and turned back towards the classroom, intent on leaving his brother in the hall. "Aw, come on, Al!" James said. "I was only kidding, I'm sure Daisy's a great girl. You should invite to Hogsmeade sometime, if you like her so much."

"We study on Saturdays," Albus said, with his back to his brother.

"You need to live a little, bro!" James dropped his arm over Albus' shoulders. "Take to her to Hogsmeade and snog her in front of the Three Broomsticks. And then spend Sunday reveling in the gossip about how she's pregnant." Albus gave James a horrified look and James just wiggled his eyebrow suggestively.

"You are the worst role model on the face of the earth," Albus said.

"Well, now, you don't know that for sure. Besides I'm just trying to be supportive. Merlin knows I've never done that before. If you like little Daisy Doe, why not ask her out?"

"Maybe because I like talking to her and spending time with her and I don't want that to change if she doesn't like me back or if it doesn't work out, or something?" Albus suggested, shrugging James' arm off his shoulder. Instead of receiving a snappy, annoying come back from his brother, Albus' suggestion was met with silence.

Albus looked at James. The oldest Potter looked uncomfortable and mildly confused. Albus stuffed his hands in his pocket and looked James over. His brother looked more disheveled then usual.

"Are you all right, James?" Albus asked, genuinely concerned.

"I think I might fancy Kira," James said. Albus waited for him to say more. He did not and when Albus realized that James was not going to say more, he shrugged.

"And?"

"Well, this isn't easy for me all right!" James exclaimed.

"You just figured out that you fancy Kira, so you skipped your class to pull me out of mine to tell me something everyone but you and Kira knows, is that right?" Albus asked.

"Kira told Flitwick I wasn't feeling well, I'm supposed to be in the Hospital Wing and I told Snodgrass that Dad sent me an urgent letter, I can promise you that we're not being missed," James grumbled.

"Merlin, you really are the world's worst role model," Albus muttered.

"Be that as it may, I have a serious problem here."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know, tell me how to stop fancying her?" James suggested.

"I can't do that," Albus said.

"Why not?"

"Mum's already got your wedding planned." James paled considerably. "Maybe you should write to Teddy. He and Victoire were great friends before they started dating. Maybe he can give you some tips about how not to act like an idiot and ruin everything."

"You're right," James said, rubbing his eyes, underneath his glasses. "Thanks, little bro. I knew I could count on you, being the smart one and all." Albus shook his head and went back to class. He slipped into his seat and Daisy turned to him.

"Is everything all right?" she whispered.

"Yeah," he said. "Everything's fine. James was just causing trouble, as usual. I put him in his place, is all." Daisy's smile warmed him to his toes.


	3. Snooping to Their Level

**Chapter Three**

Snooping to Their Level

When Lily Potter was ten years old she had her first boyfriend. She did not tell anyone about it. Mostly because her older brothers would have no doubt beat him up. He was only nine and she fairly sure that getting whaled on by two older boys would have scarred him for life. She ended up breaking up with him by the end of their first week together, so she figured that no one really needed to know about it.

Once she finally got to go to Hogwarts, boys started flocking to her. Lily thought she was pretty before, but she never knew just how pretty until she started school. Boys sought her out and every last one of them asked to be her boyfriend. She declined most offers. The boys were almost making it too easy for her. She felt pretty, but not desired. And at eleven she could tell the difference.

All of the boys who asked her out liked her because she was pretty, not for her intelligence, her humor, her fun loving spirit. They only liked her for her looks, and that got old fast. Every one of her past boyfriends, all thirteen of them, got broken up with within two weeks of dating. Lily only started dating them because she thought that maybe they liked her because they thought she was a nice, smart girl. Thoughts like that came to a halt shortly after the first date.

For this reason and this reason alone, Lily Potter had been single her entire third year. Which surprised the hell out of her friends and relieved her parents. Lily had no interest in any of the boys in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. And they were the boys that asked her out. The boys in Slytherin admired her from afar, but never actively pursued her. One of the many reasons that Lily respected Slytherin boys. She did not like most of them, but she respected them.

Only one Slytherin boy ever asked her out that was Scorpius Malfoy. Lily made a point of being disgustingly polite but, of course, refused the offer. She thought, as he spoke to her in library, that she would later have a great laugh about this with her dorm mates. But when she saw the look on his face after she said no, she was forced to keep the conversation to herself. He looked crushed and Lily immediately felt bad.

Scorpius had always been kind to her and James. He had a sort of truce with Albus, they had so many classes together and were the two top students in their year, competing with each other would take time away from their studies.

Her mum and dad always made a point to never speak ill of the Malfoys in front of their children, but Lily could tell, as could her brothers, that their parents were not fond of them.

But when Lily declined Scorpius' offer to take her to Hogsmeade, she had not even thought about the fact that her father would freak if she'd said yes. She already had a boyfriend at the time and Lily was always faithful to her relationships, however short lived they were. Once she had gotten sick of her current boyfriend she was hoping that Scorpius would ask her out again, but he did not.

In the end she thought it was for the best.

But as Lily lay on James' bed, shuffling through his mail, she began regretting her decision. Scorpius had never been drawn to her by her looks, at least not as far as she could tell, and that was the main reason she broke up with all of her boyfriends. He also was unlike most Slytherins. He made a point of being kind to other students in all of the houses. It was like he did not want to be like his father and Lily liked that about him.

At the moment she could do nothing about it.

Lily absentmindedly looked at the parchment lying in front of her. The only reason that she was in his room was because one of her older friends told her that James had barged into her Transfiguration class. He had pulled Albus out of class saying that he had received an urgent letter from dad. And he had not told Lily about it.

She figured that he was lying, but she could never be too sure. None of his mail seemed all that interesting, until she found a half finished letter to Teddy.

_Hey Teddy,_

_I been meaning to ask you something for a while now. How did you know you fancied Victoire? I mean she was like you best friend and stuff. How did you separate your friendly feelings from the romantic ones? When you finally asked her out, weren't you worried that if she said no, you'd no longer be friends with her? How did you do it, man?!_

_I'm asking this because yesterday I saw Kira's knickers. Not on purpose or anything, but she tripped and fell and her skirt went flying up and I couldn't help myself. She was lying on the floor with her skirt up around her waist and all I could think about was how pretty she is. Hell, that's all I can think about now!_

_She's got freckles and red hair and the prettiest eyes I've ever seen. It's like I know her so well, that every little thing she does, things she's done thousands of time before are just driving me mad with wanting her. I can't get her off my mind. In class I scribble her first name with my last name in the corners of my papers. She's driving me bonkers._

_I don't know what to do, mate. You've got to tell me what I should do. She's not dumb and I'm not subtle so she's bound to figure it out eventually. If I lose my friendship with her over a pair of white knickers, I'm going to jump off the Astronomy Tower._

_Write me back and tell me what to do or I'll be sending a letter to Victoire about that ring you've been hiding since Christmas._

_Yours,_

_James Potter_

Lily smiled. Kira had liked her brother back when Lily was in her first year. She had not said it in so many words but it was obvious to Lily that Kira was overly fond of her brother. She did not know if Kira felt the same anymore so she decided she should not tell Kira about this dubious letter.

But she did have every intention of taking the mickey out on her brother.

In the meantime she had yet to find a letter from dad that seemed urgent. She was beginning to think that the letter was made up. She had thought that initially but could not pass up an excuse to pock through her brother's belongings.

Lily sighed and got up. She had done just about as much snooping as she could justify at the moment. She left her brother's dorm room and headed towards the library.

---

Scorpius Malfoy gave James a curious look. The other boy was obviously distressed, but was having such a hard time articulating himself Scorpius had no idea what he was upset about. He had his shaggy head in his hands and was groaning quietly. Or maybe he was talking, Scorpius could not tell. James had never been a very loquacious lad, least of all when distress. In fact Scorpius was fairly certain that James had a class he should have been in at the moment.

"James?" Scorpius asked. James groaned again, but did not look up. "James?"

"Oh, bugger it! What?!" the other boy snapped, pulling his head out of his hands.

"Don't you have a class right now?" he asked. James sighed and shook his head. "You don't have a class right now?" Scorpius scrunched up his face in confusion.

"No! I mean yes! Yes, I have a class right now but Kira-" James broke off all of the sudden. His face went from irritated to dreamy once Kira's name passed his lips.

James did not really have to finish his sentence for Scorpius to put the pieces together. Kira was lying to the professor, probably telling them that James was sick or something to that effect, so that James would not get in trouble and miss the up coming Quidditch game. Scorpius did not care one way or the other. He had never been terribly interested in the sport, much to his father's chagrin.

His father wanted him to beat the Potter boys at everything they did. Scorpius just was not interested. The Potter boys were two of his best mates, beating them at anything would happen only by chance. He was not about to seek out competition with them just because his father had an age old grudge against the family. One that he never talked about in front of mother. She always reminded him that Harry Potter had saved his father's life.

"I think I might… flabby keeya," James mumbled.

"You think you might flabby keeya?" Scorpius asked, dubiously.

"No! Merlin, aren't you listening to me?!"

"It's hard to listen when you refuse to articulate," he snapped. James shook his head and sighed.

"Look, I'm having a hard time with this, Scorpius. This isn't something I can just admit!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what James was so troubled about. He had just figured out that he fancied Kira Fitzsimmons. Scorpius knew that James was not a smart as his brother, but he was sure that James was not half a stupid as most people thought he was. When James paid attention in class he got very good marks, but he paid attention so rarely that he did not have a chance to prove himself.

Once upon a time Scorpius had tried to convince James to apply himself to studies, but that had ended with Albus in the Hospital Wing for no apparent reason. He later found out that James had assumed that Albus had talked Scorpius into talking him into doing better in class. After that Scorpius realized that it was probably a better idea to just let James do whatever he wanted in class and hope that his own good marks would inspire James to do better. It had yet to work. Scorpius was usually interested in what James had to say, the oldest Potter was one of the few people Scorpius actually considered a friend.

The other people he considered friends were Albus Potter, Kira Fitzgerald and the thousands of Weasleys. He knew there weren't actually thousands of them, but after being bombarded by one after the other after the other almost everyday it truly seemed like there were at least a thousand of running around Hogwarts. The Weasleys had been the hardest for him to win over, but as soon as the Potters accepted him into the fold, they did too. Most of them were just acquaintances but a few had made an effort to actually get to know him and seek him out upon occasion.

James and Albus sought him out the most. James for advice on pranking or girls or any other thing he could come up with in an effort to avoid studying. Albus for someone to study with. Both Potter boys were interesting to talk to and brought different things to the friendship. James was fun, Albus was smart.

And Lily Potter was beautiful. He hadn't been interested in her during her first year at Hogwarts. Asking her out seemed like the popular thing to do among the boys of every house. A few of the Slytherin boys had bragged about asking her out, but Scorpius knew for a fact that none of them had. Those boys were his friends and told him later on in the dorm that they hadn't actually gone through with it. The common excuse was that she was a Gryffindor and they only wanted to date within Slytherin House.

It was complete bull and they knew that Scorpius knew that it was crap. They had asked out plenty of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs and even a few Gryffindors. The real reason none of the asked her out was because she seemed to unattainable. That hadn't stopped Scorpius though. Once he figured out how he felt about her he wasted no time asking her out. She refused and Scorpius hadn't put himself out there ever again. He'd dated but it never lasted long.

The only girl he was really interested in wasn't interested in him.

Scorpius sighed, heavily and looked around the library. It was pretty empty, but then again it was the middle of the day. Most students were in class, the few that weren't didn't want to spend their free hour studying. Just more proof that Scorpius was an odd seed.

A Slytherin whose best mates were not only Gryffindors but the sons of his father's former worst enemy and he fancied his best mates' sister madly.

"What do you think I should do?" James asked.

Scorpius brought his gaze back to his friend. James had obviously been talking while Scorpius had been musing about the strange turns his life had taken.

"I think you should keep your head firmly in your arse and never do a damn thing about it," he said. James gave him a horrified and slight confused look. The overall look on James' face was quite amusing.

"What d'you mean?"

"I asked out this girl I really fancied and she shot me down," Scorpius explained. "All I got out of that situation was heart ache and the super fun experience of watching her date a bunch of nimrods. If I had just kept my mouth shut I'd still be able to talk to her and just be friends with her. Now it's just awkward."

"Hmm…" James mumbled. "You have a point. What reason did she give for saying no?"

"She said she was dating someone else at the time. But she was being so disturbingly polite about it I didn't really believe her."

"Funny, that sounds like something Lily would do," James mused. Scorpius' eyes went wide. He didn't want the other boy to know he'd asked out his sister. Scorpius valued James' friendship and didn't want to jeopardize that friendship by fancying his sister. It had been forever, he really needed to get over it.

"That's not the point. The point is that Kira is your friend, your best friend right?" James nodded. "Asking her out just welcomes all sorts of unsavory possibilities."

"Like her not returning my feelings," he sighed.

"Exactly. And abject humiliation when she laughs in your face, like asking her out was some kind of joke. Or the awkwardness that will plague the duration of your friendship afterwards. Or the inevitability that your friendship will end because you screwed it up by trying to make something more out of it. Or the-"

"That's enough, Scorpius!" James exclaimed, standing up. "You've convinced me, mate. I'm going to keep it to myself and hope the feelings go away." James shook his head and walked out of the library.

Scorpius sighed. He knew his advice wasn't very good and he'd kind of hoped that James would call him a wuss and make the bold move. He wanted to believe that if James could make it with Kira maybe he could make it with Lily.

As that thought crossed his mind, the one and only Lily Potter walked into the library. Scorpius freaked, grabbed his books and ran behind one of the towering shelves. He looked around the shelf. Lily appeared to be searching for someone and Scorpius desperately wished she was looking for him. That hope along with all the others made him cringe. He needed to get over her and he wasn't going to be able to do that hiding in the library.


	4. May I Have This?

A/N: I'm so happy! I'm so happy! People like this story! I'm so happy!

Disclaimer: I offered J. K. Rowling fifty cents to buy the rights to this story off of her, but she wouldn't budge. Bitch wanted seventy five cents! Like I'd pay that much… Still until we reach an agreement the rights to this story still belong primarily to her.

Chapter Four

May I Have This?

Teddy Lupin hovered around the outside of the house just a moment too long. He knew that the people inside knew that he was outside and that they probably also knew why he was stalling. You see the scariest person Teddy had ever met was inside that house. He was taller then him, stronger then him, more gifted with spells then him, etcetera. He was all around a better wizard and what's more he no doubt hated Teddy's guts.

How could he not, he was Teddy's girlfriend's father. The guy had every reason to despise him.

He'd known Bill Weasley his whole life and had been friends with Victoire for her whole life. Teddy had fallen in love with Victoire during his seventh year and had been so horrified of his feelings he had graduated without telling her how he felt. After graduating he moved into a flat near his godfather's house. The location was perfect because his godfather was Victoire's uncle and therefore she visited a lot and he got the chance to see her on a pretty regular basis.

Well, it didn't take long for Harry Potter to figure out how Teddy felt about his niece. And he wasn't shy about telling Teddy off for not manning up and admitting how he felt to Victoire. It sounded to Teddy like Harry was holding a bit of information back while encouraging him to do the right thing. When Teddy tried to press him for information, Harry just said,  
"You're a Gryffindor, act like it."

So, right before Victoire got on the train for her seventh year at Hogwarts, Teddy stopped her, told her how he felt and kissed the crap out of her. James interrupted a little while later, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because Bill Weasley was just around the corner about tell his daughter off for not being on the train yet.

Teddy was more careful after that. He had very gently asked her to move in with him after a year of dating. They'd been living together for two years now and everything was going perfectly. Until he got that damned letter from Albus. Yet another Potter calling him out on his cowardice.

_Dear Teddy,_

_It's come to my attention that my bloody brother has finally removed his head from his arse and admitted that he fancies Kira. This would be fabulous news if he hadn't also decided not to do anything about it. He's hoping, the damned fool, that if he ignores it, it'll go away. He's hoping that if he does nothing she'll stop being attractive and things will pick up where they left off. You know, them pranking other students, then lying to the professors about who really did it and then serving detention._

_I recommended that he write to you and figure how to handle this situation like a sane, level headed person, but of course my advice has fallen on deaf ears. So, I've stepped up to the plate in hopes that you might be able to give him a few pointers on how to deal with the situation._

_I know you're busy and feel free to refuse, but so help me Merlin if you do I'll be telling my cousin about that ring you've been hiding for the past few months. Don't think for a second I won't._

_Yours,_

_Albus Potter_

_P.S. You might be wondering why I'd take time out of my busy day for my dumb ass of a brother. To tell the truth I was hoping that if I showed James what a good brother did for his siblings he'd follow suit. It probably won't work, but here's hoping._

The youngest Potter son liked to pretend he was the good son, but Teddy knew better. He was as much a trouble maker as his older brother, Albus was just smarter about it. More to the point he didn't get caught. James could learn a lot from Albus if he'd just slow down for a second and listen. But yet again James ignored his brother's good advice in favor his own half-assed plan.

Teddy tried to ignore his feelings for his best mate and that got him nothing but trouble. Plus his godfather all but called him a coward. That was what James was doing whether he realized it or not. James was afraid that if he put himself out there with Kira he'd get shot down and they wouldn't be able to be mates anymore. It was the same fear that Teddy had had to face on Platform 9¾ three years ago. Unfortunately the only advice he could give James was the same advice Harry had given him.

"You're a Gryffindor, act like it."

What was really unfortunate for Teddy was that James was so dense he wouldn't get it and probably wouldn't act on it. And because of James' denseness Albus would surely make true on his threat and tell Victoire about the engagement ring.

Teddy made an attempt anyway and sent three letters to three Potters. One to James telling him to act like a Gryffindor. One to Albus telling him that he'd sent a letter to James and explaining why it probably wouldn't do any good. And the last to Harry. The letter told his godfather about the situation with his son and the awkward predicament it had put Teddy in.

Harry was thrilled, of course, about the whole situation. He was relieved that his son had finally figured out something that every witch and wizard that had every seen James and Kira together already knew. And he was happy that Teddy would be making an honest woman out of Victoire. It worked out perfectly for Harry, but then again things usually worked out perfectly for Harry.

Perfect family (sort of), perfect job, perfect house, perfect life. Right now at least. Teddy knew it hadn't always been that way, but it didn't stop him from feeling slightly bitter about it. He was being black mailed into asking for his girlfriend's hand in marriage by two Potters, he felt that it was his right to be pissed at the aforementioned Potters.

Harry had threatened to tell Bill about the engagement ring and that served to scare Teddy into action. He'd been dilly dallying around the issue for too long anyway. The more he thought about it, the less he liked the idea of changing the relationship he had with Victoire. They were happy, why fix what isn't broken?

The door to Shell Cottage opened, pulling Teddy from his thoughts. Bill Weasley stood in the doorway, his arms crossed and his expression stern. He looked like he already knew what Teddy was going to ask and didn't like it one bit.

Teddy knew that he was living in the twenty first century and didn't really need Bill's permission to ask Victoire to marry him, but he was too horrified of Bill to even attempt such thing.

Teddy swallowed, drew on some remnant Gryffindor courage and walked up to the house.

---

Rose Weasley wiggled her way down the hall, expertly avoiding her cousins and their never ending quest to ruin her hair. She'd finally gotten it perfect and wanted to make sure that Stephen Wood got a chance to see how pretty she looked before one of her stupid relatives got the bright idea to mess it up. She rarely got the chance to look good for her boyfriend and really didn't want him changing his mind about her just because she couldn't keep her hair nice for more than five minutes.

Stephen was two years older than her fourteen years and was quite possibly the best thing that had every happened to her. Or at least that's what she thought. They had begun dating at the beginning of her fourth year, when out of no where the sixth year had asked her out.

She had tripped over one of her cousin's expertly positioned foot and toppled to the floor. Stephen had come to her rescue, helping her pick up her books and walking her to class. She'd thanked him, blushed profusely and had nearly had a heart attack when she saw him waiting outside her classroom when the hour was over. He'd walked her all of her classes that day and during dinner he asked her to Hogsmeade. They'd been together ever since, much to Rose's father's chagrin.

"Rose!" Stephen called. Rose felt her cheeks heat at his grin. She skipped the rest of the way to his side. He immediately pushed her bangs out of her face and kissed her.

Rose would have rolled her eyes, if they hadn't squeezed shut as soon as Stephen pulled her into his arms. It just figured that _he_ would mess up her hair after she'd taken so much effort to make it look nice for him. But that was her Quidditch hunk, there was only one thing he cared about more than Quidditch and that was her. The perfectness of her hair didn't matter one wit to him, so you'd think that would make Rose stop trying, but no. She just wanted to look like she deserved to be with him.

"Wanna skip lunch?" he whispered in her ear. Rose giggled and shook her head. His face fell. "Why not?"

"Because I have half a million relatives that will notice if both of us don't show up for lunch-" she began to explain.

"You also have half a million relatives that will notice if we have a snog during Hogsmeade weekends, whether we go to the village or not. We've barely been able to kiss for all your relatives!" Stephen exclaimed. Rose worried her lower lip.

"It wasn't my idea to have four uncles _and_ an aunt. It wasn't my idea to have all of them have children. And it certainly wasn't my idea to have all of those relatives be so damn nosy that they'd hunt me down in _your_ dorm room if necessary," Rose said. Stephen sighed, unhappily.

"I know."

"I have some good news, if that'll help."

"Always does," he said, wrapping his arm around Rose's waist.

"Oi, Wood! Knock it off!" Fred jr. yelled, from somewhere in the crowd of students behind them. Stephen ignored the command and kissed the top of her head, mussing up her hair even more.

"You were saying?" he prompted.

"My cousin Victoire just wrote me telling me something very interesting about Teddy Lupin," she said. They sat down in their usual seats for lunch, surrounded by most of Rose's male cousins who had been threatened by her father to watch Stephen's every move. They had the top Auror's expressed permission to hex the crap out of him if he got to handies with his daughter.

"I remember him, he was Quidditch captain before me," Stephen said, ignoring the seemingly endless pairs of eyes boring into him.

"Well apparently he plans on asking her to marry him-"

"What?!" Chucky yelled.

He was one of Uncle Charlie's three sons with his girlfriend, Charlene. Rose always liked Charlene, particularly because she preferred to be called Charlie and never wanted to marry her uncle. She wanted to stay in a relationship with him, but marriage was something the dragon trainer was interested in. All of the Weasleys were close and Rose was honestly surprised that this news hadn't spread sooner.

"She found the ring a few weeks ago in his pants pocket. She thinks he went to ask Uncle Bill for her hand a couple days ago, because he came home looking slightly sick and he only looks like that when he's talked to Uncle Bill," Rose finished, not taking her eyes off of Stephen. They had most of their conversations like that. Pretending that her family wasn't listening in on everything they said.

"I hate to say it, babe-" he began.

"She has a name you know?" Hugo interjected.

"But your uncle is pretty scary," he continued as though he'd never been interrupted.

"He can't help it, Stephen. You know that," she chastised lightly.

"Doesn't make him any less scary." Rose smiled and Stephen leaned in for a kiss. The kiss was forcibly broken when James walked by and kicked Stephen's chair. "I could easily pull you off the next game, Potter," he threatened.

"I know," James said, sticking his head between Rose and Stephen's. "But she's family and her dad's paying me a gallon a day to keep her virgin… And besides blood's thicker than Quidditch, mate."

Rose blushed and looked away. It seemed like her entire family was out to ruin not only her hair, but her relationship too. She could understand her father having her cousins watch her and Stephen, but paying them? PAYING THEM!? She'd just about had enough. Rose ran her finger through her hair and groaned. She'd just finished what her boyfriend had started and ruined her hair.


	5. Weasley War Zone

**A/N: HEY ALL YOU FIVE HUNDRED PEOPLE READING MY STORY AND NOT REVIEWING!!! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! **Thanks for reading, it's awesome to know that even if you can't bare the thought of giving me a review you still like the story enough to read it!

Disclaimer: I made up a whole bunch of this shit, so there!

Chapter Five

Weasley War Zone

Kira glanced over at James. He was acting weird again, but then everyone in the Burrow was acting weird. James was just usually exempt from that weirdness. He was the cool one. He was the sane one surrounded by maniacs.

Kira had no idea what was going on with him and she didn't like that one bit. They were supposed to be best mates and best mates know just about everything about one another. He knew just about everything about her. The thought that he was hiding something from her irritated her to no end. And the sick thing was that she was already learning his action and reaction in whatever new funk he was in.

If she hit him, he'd grab her hand and force her to hold on to whatever part his body she'd hit. If she insulted him, he'd compliment her. If she asked what was going on with him, he'd tell he was drunk.

She had begun not to believe him about being drunk. She'd raided his dorm room during lunch just before summer break and found that James didn't have any alcohol. There weren't even bottles all over the floor and if he'd been drinking half as much as he said he was there would have been bottles all over the place. James wasn't one for cleaning up after himself. But when she raided his dorm, his bed had been neat, clothing folded and in the proper drawers.

It all made Kira's heart sink.

Her best mate was lying to her. They'd made a promise never to lie to each other back in their first year, during their first detention together. He was lying about the drinking and about why he wanted to go to bed at 12:30 am. It was way too early for either of them. To find out that he hadn't been going to bed for a shower and wank, but that he was cleaning was just disturbing. He used to be so predictable, she could guess what he was going to say or do long before he did it.

Now she felt like she barely knew the person sitting next to her. And that was depressing.

With a sigh, Kira shifted, James flinched and she'd had enough. If they were going to be strangers they might as well be strangers from across the room. She stood up and lightly brushed James' side with her hip, half hoping that he'd grab her and force her closer. He didn't and Kira sighed again. They might as well be strangers from across the house. It was time for some serious girl talk.

"Where are you going?" James asked. Kira glanced back at him. He looked upset, but for once Kira had no idea why. _Bastard_, she thought.

"I'm going to talk to Lily. You know, girl talk," she said. She moved to walk away.

"Oh… well, the wedding…" James stammered. Kira stopped, he sounded drunk, but she knew he wasn't. She'd been with him all day. There was no way he could have gotten wasted without her knowing.

"The wedding isn't for a few hours," she snapped. "Maybe you should go have a guy talk with Teddy. He's probably freaking out." Kira grabbed Lily and dragged her upstairs. "Which one of these rooms is your mum's? And where's Rose?"

"To hell if I know where Rose is, and it's not like we live here, I have no idea which room is my mum's," Lily mumbled. Kira stopped walking and turned to her friend.

"Okay what is with you Potters?" she demanded.

"What d'you mean?"

"First James is lying to me and now you're all mopey! I've just about had it with the lot of you." Kira pushed the nearest door open. "He tells me that he's going to bed early so he can shower and have a wank and what's he doing? He's- holy crap!"

Kira had finally turned around. She had found Ginny's old room and she'd also found Rose. Her outburst wasn't enough to get the other girl's attention and to be honest Kira couldn't blame her. It was hard to talk around one's boyfriend's tongue and it didn't look like Rose was trying. Kira didn't blame her, it was damn near impossible for her and Stephen to kiss let alone have nice long snog.

Kira could blame her for having that snog in a house filled to the brim with her manic family.

"Merlin's balls, is that what I think it is?" Lily asked.

Kira couldn't take her eyes off the couple smashed onto Ginny's tiny bed. Rose had her leg hitched up over Stephen's hip and her hands in his hair. Stephen was being a little more careful, holding himself up off her body. Kira had seen Stephen with other girls and knew that he was being much more respectful of Rose then he usually was.

"I think you know exactly what that is, Lily," Kira snorted. "I've caught you that position far too many times for you to feign any sort of innocence."

"I've never been caught in a position quite like that-"

"But you've been in a position like that," she insisted. Lily rolled her eyes and cleared her throat trying to get the couple's attention. "If our talking didn't get there attention what makes you think that will… Do you reckon you could a good impression of your uncle Ron?"

"Course I can, but I don't think it'll do any good. Rose's been pissed at him since break started," Lily said.

"Is it because he's been paying you lot to keep Stephen from doing something like that?" Kira pointed the couple.

"Kind of. He never paid _me_, though, I refused."

"Possibly because you wouldn't want your dad getting the same idea?" Kira surmised.

"Wouldn't matter if he did," Lily snapped. "I'm not interested in any of the blokes asking me out these days."

"Really, why?" Kira leaned against the door jam and crossed her arms.

"Okay if tell you, you have to promise me you won't tell a soul. Not even my brother," Lily said, seriously.

"That last bit won't be a problem. The bastard's been lying to me for a while now, there's no way I'll be ratting you out, least of all to _him_."

"Wow. You're really pissed at him, aren't you?"

"We promised each other in our first year, during our first detention together that we'd never lie to one another. And I find out that not only hasn't he been drinking-"

"Could you two close the damn door?!" Rose yelled, pulling her mouth momentarily away from her boyfriend.

"Could you be a bigger idiot?" Lily yelled back. "Uncle Ron is up here somewhere and you've got your tongue in your boyfriend's mouth. Shit, Rose. If he caught you guys, you'd be grounded for the next three years."

"Why don't you just scream a little louder, Lily," Rose snapped, pushing Stephen off of her so she could get in Lily's face. "I don't think the wizards in TAIWAN heard you!"

"What are you guys yelling about?" Ron Weasley demanded coming down the stairs. Rose quickly closed the door to Ginny's old room, blocking her father's view of Stephen who still lay haphazardly on the bed.

"Nothing, Dad," Rose said, the picture of innocence.

Kira noticed with pride that she'd removed her lipstick and purposefully styled her hair messily so that no one would notice if she had a snog. It was a trick that Kira herself had taught the young Weasley.

"I wish you wouldn't do your hair like that, Rose," he chastised lightly. "It makes you look like you've rolling round in bed or something."

The three red headed girls stared at him in silence for a moment, before Kira laughed. It was an obviously faked laugh, but fortunately the other girls were smart enough to join in before Ron realized something was up.

"We we're just having some girl talk. You know talking about lip gloss," Kira said.

"And our hair," Lily added.

"And how we all don't plan on doing anything naughty until we're married," Rose finished. Ron gave his daughter a curious look and Kira rolled her eyes. She wasn't the most tactful Weasley.

"Definitely," Kira said, coming the rescue yet again. "Nothing naughty."

"Not even kissing," Lily said, never missing a beat. Now _she_ knew how to bull.

Ron nodded, he didn't look like he particularly believed a damn thing they had said, but conceded that he had no way of proving that they were lying. "Go find your mum, Rose," he said, finally. "You must have been wiggling because your dress is all wrinkled."

Ron went back upstairs after that. Rose let out a sigh of relief once he was out of sight and moved to open the door that was hiding Stephen. Kira stopped her before she could, listening carefully to the goings on up stairs. She let Rose open the door only after she heard Ron entire his old attic room where the men were getting ready for the wedding.

"You have to be more careful, Rose," Lily said.

"I'll thank you not to give me advice about how to deal with my boyfriend, Lily," the younger girl snapped.

"I've had plenty of boyfriends-"

"We all know that." Lily paled. "But how many of those boyfriends have lasted longer than a week? You date them, you snog them and then you dump them. What do you actually know about dating, Lily? You've only ever had relationships that last under seven days. I'd rather let Ms. I'm In Love With My Best Mate over here give me advice then you." Rose pointed an accusing finger at Kira.

"Now wait just a minute-" Kira objected.

"Well, fine then, Rose," Lily spoke over her. "Just don't come crying to me when your older man dumps you as soon as he gets bored with you like all of his other little girlfriends," Lily snapped. She stomped back down stairs leaving a very uncomfortable Kira with a glassy eyed Rose.

"Rose?" Stephen called. He was sitting on the side of the bed, fixing his dress robes and looking at her with concern gleaming in his green eyes.

Rose didn't look at him, she just grabbed Kira's arm and yanked her into the loo. She slammed the door closed and locked it before collapsing on the toilet and sobbing. Kira sighed and thought, _So much for a girl talk._

---

Stephen Wood had been thrilled. He'd finally gotten his tongue in his girlfriend's mouth. It seemed like it had taken ages for him to get it there, but it had finally happened. In his good opinion it validated their relationship in a lot of ways. It meant that she was comfortable being physical with him. It meant that there was a possibility of taking things a bit further. It meant that even though their relationship was progressing slowly it was indeed progressing.

Against all odds he'd managed to actually snog his girlfriend. In a house full of her damned nosy relatives no less. She'd been far more aggressive than he ever imagined she would be and it had aroused him to no end. He'd been inclined to let her feel exactly how she was affected him, but his mother had raised him to be a gentleman and a gentleman didn't press his erection into his fourteen year old girlfriend. So he held himself up and off of her, while she tried to pull him down on top of her with a leg wrapped securely around his waist. When he'd asked her out all of ten months ago, he'd never in his wildest dreams thought that she'd be more aggressive during a snog then he was.

It just figured, she was always surprising him.

Her very existence had surprised him, in fact. Oh, he'd known that Ron and Hermione Weasley had a daughter named Rose, but he hadn't recognized the significance. Not until her book had slid across the floor and hit his foot. He found her on the other side of the hall, laid out on the floor with one of her many cousins laughing behind her, instead of doing the decent thing and helping her. Her skirt had flopped up when she fell and a sinful amount of creamy skin had been revealed for his greedy eyes. When she glanced up at him, her sparkling blue eyes were filled with contempt and embarrassment.

She was smart and witty, and he felt like an utter fool for not noticing her sooner. Stephen had had his fair share of girlfriends over his six years at Hogwarts and was sure that as a fourth year she'd seen him with plenty of those girls. He'd sat through his class after their first meeting thinking about all the ways she would no doubt reject him for his past liaisons. He'd never been subtle about his affection, however fleeting that affection was. He'd never been attracted to a girl the way he was attracted to Rose.

Stephen was sure that she felt the same as the day came to an end. He'd walked to all her classes that day and made a point of sitting next to her during dinner, instead of sitting with his Quidditch team the way he usually did. When he asked her out, he'd felt a moment of panic as she stammered and stumbled over her words. The only time a girl had ever done that after he asked her out did it because she was about to refuse. Stephen didn't know what he would have done had she refused. He probably would have kept asking her until she finally relented and complied.

He realized after she said yes that the reason she had been stammering was because she was nervous. His pretty girl was young after all and had probably lived a relatively sheltered life. No one knew for certain how many Weasleys there were and it was very likely that most of her friends were also her relatives. He realized that he was right once her family got wind of their relationship. Life got a lot harder for him after that.

On any given day, Stephen had a plethora of redheads following his every move. He knew that if he made one wrong move or looked at another girl too long, he was toast. The Weasleys weren't one of the Wizarding Worlds most respected families for nothing. They could and probably would hex the crap out of him he made a single mistake. That made life a bit more stressful than it had been before.

But Rose made him happy, so he dealt with it. The hardest thing to abide by was the veritable inability to touch his girlfriend. Touching was one of the most enjoyable parts of dating and he couldn't do that because every where they went her family was sure to go. And if he threw caution to the wind and just snogged her in the Common Room like he so desperately wanted to, he'd probably spend the next few weeks in the Hospital Wing.

It didn't help that her father was so protective of her that the first time they met, Ron Weasley threatened to send him to Azkaban for any slight infraction. Ron had been told off by his wife and his daughter mere seconds after saying so, but the horrifyingly stern look in his eyes told Stephen to take the threat seriously. And then a few minutes later he snuck into a bedroom with his girlfriend and stuck his tongue in her mouth. His father always told him he had a problem listening.

It wasn't that he didn't believe Ron, per say. Just that Rose was a lot more persuasive then her father and Stephen had promised the man that he'd make her happy. She wanted to snog, she said that snogging would make her happy. So, really he was just doing what Ron had asked, right?

Wrong.

His sweet, aggressive little girlfriend had just locked herself in the loo with Kira Fitzsimmons. Stephen knew that he could easily whip his wand out and force the door open, but his mother had slammed many a door in his father's face and she always got madder when he forced the door open. The only way to succeed in this situation was to sweet talk her into opening it for him.

He wasn't entirely sure what was wrong, but he was pretty sure that Lily had said something and Rose's reaction was to pull Kira into the loo and lock the bloody door.

He was mildly appreciative of the interruption because he didn't relish the thought of spending the rest of his life in Azkaban because Ron caught him snogging Rose. Lily and Kira had managed to pull Rose away just in time so that her father had no idea what had been going moments before.

Unfortunately Lily had spoken too quietly for him to hear. He really and truly didn't know what the problem was.

When last she spoke, she sounded mad and that didn't bode well for Stephen.

"Rose, babe?" he called. And that's when he heard it. The most heart wrenching sound any good boyfriend could ever hear. His girlfriend's sobbing.

Whatever Lily had said to Rose made her cry. Now she was locking in a loo with Kira Fitzsimmons, who was by most people's standards the worst person on the planet at consoling and Stephen, who was actually quite good at it was outside the loo fighting with his dress robes. He was looking for his wand and it seemed that his robes had eaten it.

"What're you doing?"

Stephen looked up. James was standing at the top of the stairs, looking confused. But then again James looked confused a lot lately. Whatever had been distracting the poor blighter had cost Gryffindor the cup. Stephen had every inclination to tell him to bugger off, but James had his wand in his hand and that stopped him. He needed to get through that door and since he couldn't get his wand free of his damned robes, James would have to do it.

"I'm trying to open this blasted door," Stephen snapped. "You've got your wand out, do it for me." His took on the authority of a good Quidditch captain, a tone that even James knew better than to ignore.

"You're not my Quidditch captain during the summer, Wood. So, I'm going to have to pass," James said, with his characteristic distain for authority.

"James!" Kira yelled from behind the door.

"Kira?" James looked concerned at the desperation in her voice which Stephen found odd. He'd never seen James concerned, really concerned about anything in the five years they'd known each other. He rushed to Stephen's side. "Kira, what're you doing in there? Are you all right?"

"I'm being blubbered on by one of your damned relatives! And I've forgotten my wand downstairs so I can't get out! Open the bloody door!"

It sounded like there was scuffle going on behind the door, then pounding as Kira threw herself against it in an effort to get out. James raised his wand, muttered a spell and door flew open. Kira stumbled out and into James' arms. They stared into each other's eyes, bewildered for a moment. Stephen rolled his eyes. They were both so clueless, _especially_ about each other.

Stephen pushed past them towards Rose. She was curled up in a ball on the toilet with tears streaming down her cheeks. He knelt down in front of her and wiped the tears away, muttering about how it was all going to be okay and how there was nothing to cry about. Unfortunately everything he said seemed to make her cry harder.

"Kira?" Stephen froze. He knew that voice. "What're you doing out in the hall with James?" That voice meant that he was about to be in big trouble if Rose didn't stop crying right away. "You just told me that you girls were going to have a girl talk."

Kira fumbled over her answer trying, he was sure, to give him more time to calm Rose down. "Please, Rose," he whispered. "Don't cry. Everything will be all right, you'll see."

"Why is Rose crying?!" Ron had finally gotten past Kira and James. Stephen hung his head, he would never get on his girlfriend's father's good side now. He was doomed to an eternity of not touching her because now her father was never going tell her cousins to lay off.

"Kira and I were snogging!" James yelled all of the sudden.

Ron stopped half way over to Stephen and Rose, frozen in shock. Both Stephen and Rose were staring over at Kira and James, also in shock. And Kira was staring at James wide eyed, mouth agape. Ron turned back to his nephew and shook his head.

"How does that explain why Rose was crying?" he asked. James was clearly trying to save Stephen some grief by lying, but of all the lies to tell his uncle how the hell had he come up with that one?!

"Kira and I were snogging in the loo," James began. He glanced at Kira, who still seemed too shocked to do anything more than stare at her friend. "And Wood being the upstanding, responsible and mature bloke that he is told us off for it."

"That's right," Kira said, finally unfreezing. "Stephen and Rose were having a completely platonic conversation and came upon James and I……"

"Snogging," James offered, Kira nodded.

"Rose was so surprised that we were……"

"Snogging," James said, again.

"That she stubbed her toe real bad and started to cry," Kira finished, somehow managing the whole lie with a straight face.

Ron stared at them for a second before turning back to his daughter. Rose had begun rubbing her big toe, in an effort to make the lie seem more believable.

She was doing a really good job acting like she was in physical pain and Stephen wondered idly how often Rose lied to her father. He was very protective of her and that probably put a huge strain on what Rose felt she could do. Perhaps doing things like snogging her boyfriend in her aunt's old bedroom and then lying to cover it up was the only Rose _could_ do anything her father might disapprove of.

"Is that what happened, Rose?" Ron asked. He obviously trusted his daughter not to lie to him.

"Yes, Dad," she said, showing no trace of the lie on her face. "Stephen was just rubbing my toes when you came in."

Ron nodded and Stephen felt slightly bad for the guy. He just wanted what was best for his daughter. Was it really right for her playing him like a fool? Stephen just wanted what was best for Rose too, but he was willing to let _her_ decide what she felt was best. That made all the difference in Stephen's mind and was the only reason he didn't speak up.

He _would_ try to convince Rose to tell the truth eventually. Perhaps his efforts to improve Ron's relationship with his daughter would keep the Auror from sending him to jail for snogging the aforementioned daughter. Stephen could hope.

"When were you two snogging and why didn't I see Wood when I was down here a few minutes ago?" Ron asked.

He just wasn't going to make this easy.

"Stephen was in Ginny's bedroom, where Rose and he were talking," Kira said. _Damn that girl is good at bull shitting_, Stephen thought.

"James came up shortly after you went back upstairs." _It is really no wonder_, Stephen thought, _that Ron believes her. She spoke so clearly and eloquently that it sounded like she believed herself._

"She didn't want you to see him in Ginny's room because she was sure that you'd make the wrong assumption."

Ron nodded again, this time he looked like he believed her. "Rose, go find your mum. She'll get the winkles out of your dress and make your toe feel better." Rose got up and made a show of limping out of the loo.

"Wood you should spend some time straightening your robes, you look a bloody mess." Stephen stood up and did as he was told. "James, I have to say I'm disappointed in you." James gave his uncle a guilty look, but not for the reason Ron thought. "You've known Kira for years and you couldn't dignify your first snog with the girl by doing it somewhere nicer? Your father will hear about this young man and I can promise you, he won't be happy with you. Not get out of here, both of you."

Stephen watched the retreating backs of the two fifteen year olds that had just saved his ass and sighed. He'd have to do something to pay them back because they were never going to live that lie down. Not unless they made it true.


	6. You Did What Now?

A/N: Heya, dudes and dudettes! I finally finished this chapter yeah! Please enjoy…

Chapter Six

You Did What Now?

Victoire wasn't quite sure if she was married. The priest said she was and so did Teddy, but the ceremony had been interrupted so many times for so many different reasons Victoire didn't really believe that she was married.

First there was the spreading of the rumor that Kira and James had been snogging before the wedding. She blamed that entirely on Uncle Ron. For Merlin's sake, he could have waited until after the wedding to tell Aunt Ginny that her son had finally gotten his head out of his arse and kissed his best mate. To her credit Aunt Ginny did pulled her son inside to tell him off for snogging in the loo, but when Grand Molly heard about it she absolutely lost it. She wasn't mad, goodness no one was mad! She was thrilled. Her grandson was going to marry a proper red headed girl that everyone adored. It was cause for celebration.

After that no one would shut up about it. Poor Kira had to sit red faced in the middle of a crowd of people who all wanted to know if she had enjoyed herself.

Once the priest finally got everyone's attention back to the ceremony Teddy was so upset that his hair had changed from the sandy blond it had been to bright red. Victoire knew him well enough to know that that meant he was mad and she tried to calm him down by whispering to him. Not the best idea with Uncle George in the audience. She didn't notice that half the audience was listening in on their private conversation until her father started sputtering. She'd just promised to "do that thing you like so much, Teddy, just settle down."

Of course her father would take that as something sexual, when in fact all she planned on doing for Teddy was rub his back. It was an intimate moment between the two of them and she didn't relish the idea of the priest knowing what she was going to do for her new husband.

Damn Uncle George and his Extendable Ears!

After that all hell broke loose. Victoire actually went so far as to threaten the priest into finishing the ceremony even though no one was paying attention. So, then were married, but no one really knew. The whole family was still arguing. Her father was arguing with her mother about what they'd over heard. Apparently she thought it was no big deal and he disagreed.

Aunt Luna was chastising Uncle George for pulling out the Extendable Ears in the first place. Uncle George was defending himself by saying he was hard of hearing. An ear joke that _no one was laughing at_.

Aunt Hermione was yelling at Uncle Ron for threatening to castrate Stephen Wood. The poor bloke had been trying to stand up for Kira and Uncle Ron assumed that meant he had feelings for the girl. Stephen was trying to correct Uncle Ron, but only succeed in giving the red head more reasons to hate him. Rose got in on the fight soon after, screaming about how Uncle Ron was paying her cousins to ruin her life.

Most of the rest of the family was butting in on other people's fights.

In fact the only people paying attention were her Uncle Harry and Grand Andromeda. They clapped politely when the priest finished the ceremony and wondered off as soon as possible, surely trying to get away from the arguing going on all around them.

Victoire grabbed Teddy's hand and pull him away from the people who had ruined their wedding.

"I knew we should have just run off to get married," she muttered once they were out of range of the Extendable Ears.

Teddy sighed and fought his way out of his dress robes. He laid the robes on the ground and pulled Victoire down next to him. "There was no way we could have gotten away with it after I asked your father for your hand," he said.

"Well, you shouldn't have done that!" she insisted. "Honestly, Teddy. We'd been dating for three years, living together for two. If you had to ask anyone for my hand it should have been me."

"Your father freaked out because you offered to give me a back rub during our wedding and you think that I should have agreed to a run away marriage?" he grumbled. "Damn it, woman! He would have hunted me down and you have been a widow long before we got a chance to consummate the marriage."

Victoire rolled her eyes and began to rub her husband's shoulders. There was no use arguing. What was done, was done, there was nothing they could do about it now. "Let's just agree to disagree," she said.

"Fine." Teddy sighed happily and relaxed enough to enjoy the back rub. "Come to think of it, my parents were married in secret. Of course, that was because they got married in the middle of a war."

"They were perfectly happy, though," Victoire said, wrapping her arms around his middle. "Weren't they?"

Teddy twisted his head around to kiss her. "They were happy."

"So, you agree with me, then?" she asked. "We should have gotten married in secret?"

"I'm saying that it might have been more peaceful during the wedding and we certainly would have been happier." Victoire grinned in triumph. "But your family would have been upset about missing it and we would've never heard the end of it."

Victoire kissed the side of Teddy's neck and laid back on his robes. "I guess you're right," she conceded. Teddy stretched out next to her and threw his arm over her waist to pull her closer. "I just wanted a regular wedding. Not a perfect, because Merlin knows nothing ever is perfect when my family is involved. But… just nice, you know? I just wanted it to be nice. Was that too much to ask for? Was it too much to ask that my family act like sane human beings for one hour? Once bloody hour for me?!"

"Of course it's not too much to ask…" Teddy said. "But you have to look at the bright side."

"What bright side? My family ruined my wedding."

"The wedding wasn't 'perfect' or even 'regular,' but it was us, you know? If we had a perfect wedding, I'd be inclined to think there was something horribly wrong with your family."

Victoire laughed.

"I guess you're right…"

They lay in silence for a while listening to the serene sounds of nature intermingled with the random screams of her family. It was actually nice. She was finally on the outside of her family looking in and thankfully they looked just as crazy from the outside as they did from the inside. She was a Lupin now and that made things so much easier.

"What I don't understand is why anyone was surprised about James and Kira," Victoire said after a while. "I mean Uncle George and my Dad were betting on when they'd get together."

Teddy snorted.

"What?" Victoire pushed a lock of pitch black hair out of Teddy's eyes.

She always had had a pretty good idea of what he was feeling based on the color of his hair. When he was younger the change seemed almost unconscious. Nowadays he was far more aware, but every once and a while Victoire got the feeling that this hair color was revealing something the rest of his body refused to recognize.

Red meant he was mad.

Blue meant that he was calm.

Any neon color meant he was excited.

Any dull color meant that he was sad.

But black was Victoire's favorite color on him, because it meant that he was feeling randy.

"What _I_ don't understand is why anyone believes that they got together at all," Teddy said. It was so like him to ignore the fact that they both knew he was horny.

"What d'you mean?"

Victoire tried not to take too many deep breaths. She was interested in what he had to say and distracting him with her breasts wouldn't help. His eyes flicked from her eyes to her chest then back again. Victoire smiled. She tried to make it a simply happy smile. A seductive smile would have put an end to the conversation.

"I got a letter from Albus a few months ago. He said that James had figured out he was mad about Kira but somehow got it in his head that the best way to deal with it was to ignore his feelings and hope they go away. We both know that James is too dense to listen to any advice I gave him," Teddy said.

"What did you tell him to do?"

"I merely reminded him that he is a Gryffindor and as such he should act like it."

"That's very good advice, if a bit vague."

"It's perfectly understandable!" he insisted. "It's the same thing that Harry told me when I was avoiding my feelings for you. And look at us now! We're married."

"Well, Teddy, you're not half as thick as James. You need to spell it out for the poor boy because damn it, if they weren't actually snogging their friendship is in serious jeopardy."

"James has never been very good with delicate situations," Teddy mused. "I guess I should help him out," he sighed.

"You sound so enthusiastic," Victoire laughed.

"We just got married and we're spending out reception hiding from your family and talking about a couple of stupid fifteen year olds."

"What would you rather be doing?" Her voice was low and husky.

"You can't tell me you didn't notice, Victoire. You always notice."

"Notice what?" she asked, the picture of innocence. She was teasing him now and having loads of fun doing it.

Teddy growled deep in his chest and slanted his mouth over hers.

---

James didn't know why he'd done it. Merlin, he'd been hoping to ignore his feelings for Kira, but now everything was so damned complicated. His stupid family was making it even worse, as usual. But come to think of it, if he'd just kept his trap shut in the first place Kira wouldn't be avoiding him quite so much.

She wasn't being overtly obvious about it, the way James knew he would've been. Her avoidance was subtle, delicate. She wouldn't look him in the eyes, even when talking to him. She wouldn't strike up a conversation, even though James knew she was bored out of her mind. She just sat there and blushed every once and awhile.

James sighed unhappily. He really didn't know why he'd bothered. Damn it, Rose was crying in the loo because of something Wood had said or done, he deserved a good chewing out by Uncle Ron…

But Wood was his friend. James knew what it was like to be misunderstood by a girl and then have to spend what seems like forever apologizing or dealing with random sobbing. That was one of the major things he liked about Kira. She wasn't the crying type. She just put on a brave face and dealt with it.

"Great," James mumbled. Like he needed one more thing to love about the girl next to him.

"What?" Kira's voice interrupted James' grumbling.

"What?"

Kira rolled her eyes. "What did you just say?"

"What."

"What?"

"What about what?" James asked. He might know Kira backwards and forwards, but every once and awhile she just confused the crap out of him.

"I asked you what you said and you answered with a question," she explained, refusing to meet his gaze.

"I said what."

"I didn't mean then, I heard that. What did you said before that?" Kira finally looked him in the eyes and James lost his train of thought. Her blue eyes swam with the same confusion that permeated her voice.

"Merlin, your eyes are pretty," he said thoughtlessly. Her eyes were pretty, but damn if that wasn't something he needed to say.

"WHAT?!"

"Hmm…"

"Never mind," she snapped. "You're being so weird."

"I-"

"James." His father interrupted him which was a good thing in retrospect because James had no idea how he was going to explain himself. "I need to talk to you."

James sighed and followed Harry into the deep backyard. They past most of the wedding party and thankfully Harry managed to keep people from bugging James too much with dumb questions about his dumb lie. At the very edge of the lawn Stephen and Rose were in the middle of a heated conversation that looked more like the couples first argument to James. Rose seemed near tears and yet again he wished he hadn't lied to save Wood's ass. He was inclined to stay behind and hear what Wood was saying to hurt Rose so much, but his father forced him on.

James knew what this was about. He'd already had this conversation with his mum. "James, how could you snog a girl in the loo?" "James, why would disrespect Kira by snogging her in the loo?" "James, I'm thrilled that you finally pulled your head out of your arse and realized that Kira is perfect for you, but the loo?!" "I raised you better then to snog a respectable girl like Kira Fitzsimmons in the loo!"

"Respectable?" James had snorted. "Kira Fitzsimmons is a lot of things, Mum, but respectable isn't one of them."

Thankfully his family had gone crazy outside right after James had said that drawing his mother's attention away from him. This was good because Ginny looked like she was going to kill him for even suggesting that her precious Kira wasn't as perfect and lovely as she thought. Sometimes he thought that his mother liked Kira more then she like him. It didn't help that Kira was far more charming when his parents were around then she was any other time.

"Crap on a stick, Dad!" James exclaimed, pulling away from his father. The two of them had finally stopped far enough away from the wedding party that they wouldn't be over heard. "I already know I screwed up, you don't need to rub it in my face."

"Crap on a stick?" Harry repeated. James rolled his eyes.

"Mum gets made when I say shit on a brick," he mumbled.

"And Ginny says we haven't taught you any respectability." James huffed and shuffled from one foot to the other. He opened his mouth to respond, but Harry held up a hand to silence him. "I'm not going to chide you for snogging Kira in the loo. Not that I believe for one second that you actually did."

"You think I lied?" James squeaked. He always broke under the pressure from one of his parents. A professor could (and most did) yell at him for hours about lying and he wouldn't bat an eye. But switch that professor with one of his parents and he lost it.

_Kira never loses her cool_, James' traitorous mind reminded him.

"I know you lied, James Sirius Potter. I got a letter from Teddy a few months back saying that you had decided to ignore your feelings for Kira and just hope that they'd go away."

"Damn it!" Harry cuffed him on the back of the head. James winced and glared at his father apologetically. "I knew I shouldn't have talked to Al about this."

"James, your brother just wants you to be happy. _He_ knows that feelings don't just disappear and he endeavored to help you by getting the advice of someone who has dealt this a similar situation. According to Teddy you didn't listen to him."

James crossed his arms and tried not to pout. "I didn't get what he told me to do."

"I have a feeling I already know what he said, but why don't you tell me anyway?" Harry asked.

"You're a Gryffindor, act like it!" James said. Harry shook his head. "See? It doesn't make any sense!"

"It makes perfect sense, son, if you'd just take a moment to think about it."

James shook his head this time. It just figured that his father would agree with Teddy. The advice was vague if anything. He acted like a Gryffindor all the time! He was smart, he just never paid enough attention in class to prove it. He was courageous, always standing up for what he wanted- except when it came to the Kira situation. He was brave, never backing down from anything- except when it came to the Kira situation. He acted like a Gryffindor all the time- except when it came to the Kira situation.

James blinked.

"Oh!" he exclaimed as soon as realization dawned.

"Let me tell you a story, James," Harry said, sighing.

"I not a little kid-"

"Shut up and listen!" James slumped down on the bolder behind him. "Teddy's parents got together in the middle of the last war. Tonks was thrilled, of course, she was so much more… open to joy then Remus ever was. She loved him- the destitute werewolf and she loved him. The age difference, the poverty, the lycanthropy didn't matter to her. It was the man underneath all that that mattered. But Remus didn't understand that, so he fought against it, pushing her away for far too long. He thought he was pushing her away for her own good. But really all he was doing was making them both miserable."

James looked past his father. He'd heard this story before. Remus pushes Tonks away and then she yells at him after Dumbledore died telling him that she doesn't care about all those things that Remus got hung up on. Then they kiss and get married. Blah, blah, blah… What did this have to do with acting like a Gryffindor?

Something moved behind his father's right shoulder. Teddy's head had popped up over a fallen tree. Next to him was Victoire, looking a bit dazed. They both looked far more mused then they had during the ceremony and James thought they both looked lovely wearing Victoire's pink lippy.

"You know the rest of the story for the most part, James," Harry said, drawing his attention back to the conversation. "Remus and Tonks end up married… but there's another part that I've never told you and I've never told Teddy- and I don't mean to tell him until he gets Victoire pregnant and freaks out and demands to know how his father handled his mother's pregnancy so kept your trap shut, okay?"

"Ummm… Dad-" Teddy squinted at Harry's back, obviously not liking that some part of his parents' life had been kept from him.

"James, just agree. We don't have a lot of time before your mother comes to drag your lying bum home."

"But Dad!" Teddy was glaring at James murderously now. He wanted to know had been kept from him and James' exclamations were keeping him in the dark.

"James, just agree!"

"Fine. _I_ won't say anything to him."

"Good. You know very well that Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione and I were hauled up in my godfather's house while we figured out what to do during the last war. What you don't know is that while we were there Remus came to visit. He asked to come along with us, to help us."

James' forehead wrinkled in confusion. "But what about Tonks?"

"Hermione asked that and Remus told us that she was pregnant."

"I don't get it, Dad. Why would he ask to help you guys hunt Voldemort when his wife was pregnant?"

Harry rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "Because he was trying to run away from her again. He was afraid that Tonks would give birth to a child inflicted with lycanthropy and that she and the child would have to deal with the prejudice of the Wizarding community for the rest of their lives. I can only imagine that he hoped to make it better by taking himself out of the picture. In fact he was just being scared and stupid."

James locked eyes with Teddy. He was shaking.

"My father was a coward?" he demanded. Harry froze, then turned to him.

"It's not like that, Teddy," Harry insisted.

"So, he didn't want me?! And you weren't going to tell me!"

"Teddy, I-"

"Damn you, Harry Potter! Damn you!"

Teddy stalked off leaving Victoire sitting on the ground in her wedding dress. Harry went after him, yelling his name and begging for a chance to explain.

"Sorry about that, Victoire," James mumbled.

"Don't worry about it." She got up and dusted herself off. As she walked past him, toward her wedding reception, James could have sworn he heard her say, "Damn family. My wedding couldn't just be a disaster, it had to be devastating too." She started to cry.


	7. Maybe Things Should Be Different

A/N: Great big thank you to the one person who reviews this story. You rock, everyone else sucks! (But thanks for reading anyway!)

Disclaimer: A whole bunch of this stuff belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter Seven

Maybe Things Should Be Different

Albus was sitting in a completely uncomfortable silence with Daisy. He had been thrilled when she agreed to attend his cousin's wedding with him, but now he was wishing that he'd just kept his damned trap shut. It all began with the Kira and James fiasco that seemed too completely contrived he was shocked that anyone, let alone his Mum, actually believed it.

Unfortunately he was the only one who thought so.

Grand Molly and Granddad Arthur we both up in arms about it as was the rest of his whack-a-do family. When the news broke, in the middle of the ceremony no less, he'd whispered to Daisy that there was no way it was true. She seemed unconvinced though and Albus was having trouble not laughing in her face. She was sure that his Uncle Ron, the famous Auror, wouldn't have been fooled by James and Kira.

It was sad how positively wrong that statement was.

Albus had seen the two of them talk there way out of several month's worth of detentions for getting caught selling alcohol to first years! For Merlin's sake the those two could talk their way out of Azkaban, tricking Uncle Ron was nothing new or difficult for the two of them.

It was unclear to Albus which one of them came up with the lie that spread through the family but he had a feeling that it was James. Kira was too smart to tell such an easily disproved lie. The look on her face when Grand Molly asked her if she enjoyed herself was priceless and very telling in Albus' opinion. She looked horrified, humiliated and for the first time since Albus met her, embarrassed.

He felt bad for her, because even though she was the female version of his brother in many ways, she was also a genuinely good person who didn't deserve the inappropriate questions and suggestions of his family. Albus had sincerely hoped that the worst had past once the priest had gotten his family under control. Unfortunately he couldn't have been more wrong.

After that Uncle Bill just about had a heart attack when Victoire was overheard making a sensuous promise to her new husband and then all Hell broke loose. His family broke off into a series of small arguments that became perpetually larger as more family members poked their noses into other family members business.

Albus made a point of staying out of it. He had hoped to make Daisy his girlfriend by showing her what a wonderful and loving family he had. Oh, he knew that they were all bonkers but he'd been hoping that for Victoire they would behave. An incredibly short sighted idea in retrospect.

He and Daisy had watched Victoire threaten the priest into finishing the ceremony and clapped politely when he announced Mr. and Mrs. Teddy Lupin to a crowd of people who weren't paying attention. After that the happy couple vanished into the backyard and the arguments that ruined their wedding disintegrated and the family went on to enjoy the reception.

Albus had attempted to sit back and enjoy himself but the family's attention had shifted from Kira and James to Albus and Daisy, primarily because James had walked off with his Dad a few minutes ago. They had no one to pester anymore so they turned their collective attention to the poor shy girl and the red faced boy just trying to enjoy themselves.

To her credit Daisy handled it much better then he did. She was calm and cool and probably not thinking about murdering his entire family. No Daisy Doe was perfect, so perfect that she was starting to make Albus feel inferior. He sat there red faced and angry while she artful dodged any question that might embarrass the living daylights out of them both. (It seemed that Grand Molly had lost her internal censor and was not above asking base questions.)

Thankfully his Mum had come by a few minutes ago and had pulled a majority of the family away. Now Albus was sitting alone with a prim Daisy who refused to meet his eye and a depressed looking Kira who looked like she was about to cry. This damned wedding was without a doubt the worst date he'd ever been on.

"Albus?"

Albus looked up at his mother. She was at her wits end and that meant the party was over. That was okay with him, the sooner he got away from the horror of this date the better.

"Yes, Mum?"

"Will you go find your father and James? Kira, Daisy? Lily's out front, we'll be leaving as soon as Al returns with Harry and James," Ginny said. Daisy got up and followed Kira to the front yard without a backwards glance.

_Brilliant_, Albus thought, trudging into the backyard.

He continued to grumble about many of life's cruel turns. When he finally came across James, he stopped bemoaning his own life because as usual James' miserable existence out shown his. Victoire had her arms around James' shoulders bawling her eyes out. James was patting her back awkwardly and saying things like, "I'm sure it'll be okay?" "It's not too bad?" "It's not like he's going to leave you or anything?" He said all of it like he was asking questions instead of attempting to be comforting. James was never terribly good with delicate situations.

"James, what the hell are you doing?" Albus demanded. He was in no mood to deal with whatever new problem his brother had made for himself.

"Al!" James' eyes brightened as soon as he caught sight of his brother. "Dear Merlin! Help me with this. She won't stop crying and I don't know what to do!"

"What have you done to her?" Albus asked.

"I haven't done anything! Dad yanks me out here and starts talking about Tonks and Remus-"

"Why would he bother with that?" Albus scoffed. "We've all heard that story before." How gullible did James think he was?

"He added a bit at the end that we never heard before," James insisted.

"You think I'm an idiot, don't you?"

"Well… You're my brother, so yeah. But this is different, I'm actually telling the truth!"

"Fine, tell me! What did Dad add?" Albus demanded.

"Apparently Remus tried to abandon Tonks with Teddy while she was still pregnant. Dad wasn't going to tell Teddy until he and Victoire had their first baby but Teddy over heard him telling me and freaked. Now Victoire won't stop crying! She says the family ruined her wedding!" James said.

"Are you completely without thought?!"

"Well…"

"Of course the family ruined her wedding! The damned family ruined my date! BUT YOU DON'T SEE ME BLUBBERING! DO YOU?!" Albus roared. Victoire pulled her head from James' shoulder and the two of hem stared at Albus wide eyed.

"Well…"

"Shut up," Victoire snapped. "I'm sorry about your date, Albus," she said kindly.

"And I'm sorry about your wedding, Victoire. You might feel better if you had it out with the people responsible. Uncle Ron, Uncle George, your Dad, perhaps Grand Molly. For Merlin's sake the ceremony was under an hour, they have no excuse. Besides I think you've punished James quite enough," he said.

"You're right," Victoire nodded and stood up. "Thanks, Al." She walked toward the reception leaving the two brothers alone.

"You're wel-umph!" Albus smacked James in the back of the head before he could finish being an idiot.

"Which way did Dad and Teddy go?" James pointed and Albus took off in that direction.

"What're you going to do?" James asked keeping pace with his brother.

"I'm going to finish cleaning up your mess," the younger Potter snapped.

"My mess!?"

Albus stopped and rounded on him. "Yes, your mess! If you hadn't told that preposterous lie the family wouldn't have flipped in the middle of the wedding, Victoire wouldn't have started talking to Teddy, Uncle George wouldn't have pulled out his Extendable Ears and Uncle Bill wouldn't have over heard them. If you hadn't told that stupid lie Dad wouldn't have pulled you out here to explain something a blithering idiot would understand and Teddy would've never over heard anything. It you had simply told the truth I could have stuck my tongue down Daisy Doe's throat by now!"

"Ah ha!" James pointed at him. "This isn't about Victoire or Teddy, this is about you. You and your selfish desire to besmirch the squeaky clean image of your prudish girlfriend."

"Besmirch?"

"I'm not as much of an idiot as everyone thinks I am." Albus shook his head and walked away. "Look Al, I'm sorry! Okay? Rose was crying and Uncle Ron was about to hex the shit out of Wood and I'm not very good at coming up with lies on the spot. Kira had just fallen into my arms and all I could think about was snogging her- so that's what I said. I didn't think that Uncle Ron would tell anyone except Dad and I certainly didn't think he'd do it during the ceremony. I honestly thought that the only person to be humiliated by my lie would be me."

"What about Kira?" Albus asked.

"Kira's a strong, smart and disturbingly beautiful girl. She can handle herself."

"You really think that?"

Both Albus and James turned towards Kira who had just crept up on them while they had been arguing. She stood uncertainly in her pretty green dress looking more fragile then Albus had every seen her. She was vulnerable, especially right then. If James didn't answer that question perfectly their friendship would be over, Albus was sure of it. A shiver of panic ran down his spine, there was not telling what James would do without Kira there to temper him.

Albus glanced at his brother for some clue as to what he was going to do. James stood up perfectly straight and threw his shoulders back, puffing out his chest. Great, he was going to make a fool out of himself. How was Albus going to fix THIS?!

"No, Kira," he said. Albus gaped at his brother. There was no way James could be that stupid! "I _know_ it. You're smarter then me- though that's not hard. You're strong enough to deal with me every damn day. Smart enough to handle any stupid situation I get us into with cool confidence…… And you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met."

"Really?" Kira choked. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"Really."

"You fancy me, then?" she asked. James turned bright red, squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. Kira smiled. "Is that why you've been acting so weird?"

"This is really uncomfortable for me, Kira," James mumbled. "Could you just agree to be my girlfriend or insist you'll never speak to me again, so that we can move on? The suspense is killing me?"

Kira walked up to him, cupped his cheeks with her hands and sealed her lips over his. James' eyes widen with shock for a moment before he melted into the contented snog that followed.

Albus stood shocked for a moment. That was the stupidest way to begin a relationship that he had ever seen. It was so utterly ridiculous that it could have only been the beginning of Kira and James' relationship. Albus shook his head and continued in the general direction of Teddy and his Dad.

Those two would figure out they were in public soon enough.

---

"Damn you, damn you! DAMN YOU!" Teddy roared and struggled against the ropes that Harry had bound him with.

"If you want freedom, young man, you'll have to clean up your language," Harry said, calmly ignoring the death glare coming from his Godson. He hadn't wanted to tie up Teddy, but it was the only way he could think to make the new husband listen.

Teddy growled and grumbled for a while but eventually he settled into a pout. "I can't believe you wouldn't have told me until Victoire got pregnant. That is the most inappropriate time to tell someone that their father was a damn coward!"

"He wasn't a coward, Teddy," Harry said, calmly. "He was afraid and alone. The only person he had in all the world was your mother. He was afraid that by getting her pregnant he was ruining her life, ruining your life… ruining what was left of his own life. So he did the cowardly thing and ran away. When he had to face me he wasn't just seeing a seventeen year old. He was seeing my Dad who was brave enough to die for me. He was seeing Sirius who was brave enough to die for the wizarding world that condemned him. He had to look into their eyes and tell them he was scared. And when I told him that he's a Gryffindor and Gryffindors don't run away from their problems, it wasn't just me talking, but them too.

"He was plagued by a moment of fear but he rose above it, Teddy. That's what I would have told you. Your father was afraid for you in a time of war and hatred and strife and being afraid for one's children was a common thing. But he did something amazing, Teddy. He rose above that fear and conquered it instead of letting paralyze him… so how can you be afraid when you have a child when your father over came so much to be with you. When he gave up so much for you."

Harry flicked his wand and the ropes vanished. Teddy leaned against the tree behind him. The poor boy looked put out and ashamed. Harry put his arm around Teddy's shoulders.

"I… didn't… know…"

"We glamorize out parents in our minds. We believe what we want and assume that the people who hated them are just bitter because our parents were so great… And when we are faced with reality the harshness of it destroys the dream world you created for you perfect parents."

Harry walked towards Albus who had just come into view, no doubt to tell him Ginny was ready to go.

"You're married now, Teddy. Life is about to get a million times harder for you because now everything isn't just about you. You need to think about how your every choice, you every action effects her life. And don't think that your father was weak… just don't repeat his mistakes, learn from them."


	8. I Wish I Was

A/N: A little happy a little sad and very funny! Thanks a bunch to all the people who have reviewed and like this story. It means a lot to me.

Chapter Eight

I Wish I Was

Scorpius was having a very difficult time with his Potions assignment. The assignment itself wasn't all that hard, in fact it was quite easy. It was the Potters that were causing the majority of his distress. All three of them were in the library with him. Albus was attempting to study with him, like the responsible mate that he was. James on the other hand was lounging across two chairs, his feet propped up with a lazy smile on his face. He'd had that very same smile on his face since the first day of classes.

At first Scorpius thought that he'd been planning some sort of beginning the school year prank, but nothing ever happened. In fact James was actually better behaved then Scorpius had ever seen him. He was going to all his classes (on time!), paying attention to the professors, not interrupting or adding some cheeky comment that would make everyone laugh and he had all but stopped getting detentions.

Nowadays the detentions he got were for getting caught snogging in public. Scorpius, like most people who heard about it (i.e. everyone)thought that he was snogging some random floozy as per usual. But no. He was snogging none other than Kira Fitzsimmons. When he finally found out the truth, Scorpius just about kicked his own bum. It was so obvious.

James Sirius Potter receives a detention for a PDA. The very same day Kira Fitzsimmons receives a detention for the same damn thing.

It was so painfully obvious after seeing the two of them together once. They could barely take their eyes off each other, let alone their hands. It was surprising that they didn't get more detentions, but Scorpius was inclined to think that the professors were willing to give them a little slack with the snogging if it meant they wouldn't be pranking. It was a lot easier to reprimand a couple of kids for kissing in the hallway then to explain to the parents of a whole House why their son or daughter has blue hair.

James gave a contented sigh and gazed adoringly at Kira who was sitting across the library with the primary cause of Scorpius' distress. She gave him a cutesy finger wave and blew him a kiss that he caught dramatically before stuffing it into his pocket "for later." He gave the air a mildly explicit lick in return and Scorpius had a hard time trying not to gag. Albus on the other hand didn't even try to hold it in.

"Merlin James!" he snapped. "I'm sick of seeing the two of you eating each others' faces every time I turn around! The library is a place to study, damn it. Act like a mature almost adult that you supposedly are."

James laughed making both Scorpius and Albus scowl. The bloke had always been a happy person, but nowadays he was so damned cheerful it made those around him feel horribly depressed by comparison. _Honestly_, Scorpius thought, _how could anyone's joy compete with James 'I'm Snogging the girl of My Dreams' Potter_.

Scorpius wanted to snog the girl of _his_ dreams, but no she wasn't interested in the likes of him. Not for the first and most likely not for the last time he truly hated the fact that he was a Malfoy. He was sure that things between him and Lily would be ten thousand times easier if he was the son of someone her father hadn't spent seven some odd years hating with every fiber of his being.

Scorpius glanced over at Lily. She was staring at him, so he looked away. He could feel her eyes boring into the side of his face and had to fight the urge not to look her way. It didn't help that she was gorgeous and for as long as he'd known her his gaze had been drawn to her.

"… isn't that right, Scorpius?" Albus said. Scorpius shook his head in confusion.

"Ha! See? Scorpius agrees with me, you numb skull!" James grinned triumphantly.

"Sorry, mates," he said. "I have no idea what you guys are talking about."

"Maybe if you stopped staring at our sister you'd be able to keep up with the conversation," Albus suggested dryly. James nodded in agreement. Scorpius' eyes went wide and he started to sputter.

"How long have you known?" he asked, finally finding his voice.

"Since this summer," Albus said. Scorpius' mouth fell open in shock. Summer had been two and half months ago and during that time the Potter boys had been more friendly than usual. Scorpius hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now…

"What exactly do you know?" He was nothing if not a cautious creature. His father had taught him that. One of the only things the traitorous bastard taught him. Scorpius wouldn't be admitting to anything until he knew what they knew. They might just think he liked looking at her or something. Not that he fancied her so much it boarded on the pathological.

"Lily told Kira that you asked her out in her second year and she turned you down saying that she had a boyfriend," James said. "That story just happens to be the same one you told me last year."

"And of course since Kira can't keep her hands off my dear brother or keep her mouth shut she told him," Albus said, bitterly.

"Shit, Al!" James exclaimed. "I'm not apologizing for that again. I know I should have knocked, but honestly if the girl wasn't such a prude she wouldn't have cared. It's not like you were doing anything dirty."

"That's not the point, James!" Albus yelled back. "The point is that I explicitly asked you to leave Daisy and I alone for a few hours and you disrespected that request. In fact you were going to snog Kira in my room hoping that Mum and Dad wouldn't think to look for the two of you there."

"How do you reckon that one out?"

"Because I know you, you great big lummox!"

"What in the blithering Hell are you two talking about?" Scorpius asked. He had been trying to follow the story but something was missing.

"When we got home from Victoire's wedding my parents went to town yelling at Kira and I for snogging in the upstairs loo, which, interestingly enough, never happened, and then snogging in the middle of the reception in the backyard," James explained. "This conniving blitter dragged innocent little Daisy Doe up to his room and snogged the crap out of her."

"That is not what happened!" Albus yelled.

"Well, that's what I saw."

"I don't care what you saw, James! That's not what happened."

"Then what happened?" Scorpius asked.

"When I saw that Mum and Dad were about to go off on James and Kira I kindly and gently suggested that Daisy and I go up to my room to talk. She agreed, so up we went. We talked for a while and then all of the sudden she tackled me and we started snogging. We were perfectly happy until this moron," Albus pointed at James, "barges in with Kira wrapped around him. He breaks away from her long enough to tell us to 'bugger off!' I refused of course-"

"You called me a 'fucking idiot' and told me to go 'fuck myself,'" James said. "And they call you the good child."

"The exact words aren't important. What is important is that Daisy ran off and Flooed home before I even got to say goodbye to her. She wouldn't answer any of my letters over the summer and won't speak to me now that we're at school. All because this prick thought he could avoid Mum and Dad by snogging in MY ROOM!"

"I think you've got some anger issues, Al," James said, completely unfazed by his brother's yelling.

"I think you should go talk to her," Scorpius said. For some reason that wiped the smile off of James' face. "The girl is probably just embarrassed. James isn't exactly the most discrete guy in the world and she's probably worried that he's going to tell everyone."

"You think so?" Albus asked, significantly calmer.

"Yeah, Daisy's smart she probably knows all about James' big mouth."

"Hey!" James said, affronted.

"You're probably right, but how can get her to listen? She's been ignoring me since it happened," Albus said, ignoring James.

"Maybe you should talk to her in the library?" Kira suggested, coming up to their table. Albus and Scorpius groan in unison. Anytime Kira and James were within snogging distance, they were… well… snogging. "This is where she is most of the time, and she's probably pretty comfortable here."

"Hey!" James exclaimed again.

"I know a Prefect who could get you into the Ravenclaw Common Room," Scorpius offered.

"That might be pushing it," Kira said. She had yet to kiss her boyfriend and said boyfriend was getting kind of pissy. "I think- Ummph! Ohhh…" James had finally gotten fed up with being ignored and took matters quite literally into his own hands. He'd reached behind him to where Kira had been standing, pulled her into his lap and kissed the living daylights out of her.

Scorpius shook his head and glanced over to the table Lily had been sitting at, it was empty. Looking around the library for his fire haired angle he saw that she had made her way over to their table and smiling at him. Scorpius felt his eyes go wide and his mind go blank. She was so beautiful.

"Hey, Scorpius," she said, giving him finger wave.

"Hey," he choked. Her voice was so light and pretty, he oft felt like a buffoon talking to her because his voice always sounded so harsh compared to hers.

"How was your summer? I feel like we haven't spoken in ages," she laughed.

If she had been anyone else Scorpius would have said that she was flirting with him. But she was Lily Potter and he was Scorpius Malfoy. There was no way she was flirting with him. His most hated emotion started curling in his belly. Heart ache pure and simple. The heart ache he always felt when he remembered that she was the daughter of the savior of Wizarding world and he was the son a Death Eater.

"My summer was great, thanks. How was yours?" His mind was utterly blank as he spoke. Escape his only true desire. Escape from this conversation and the people he'd come to consider his closest friends. James and Albus Potter, the beloved sons of the man who saved his father's life, his father who never even thanked him.

"Oh, it was… eventful to say the least," she said and then she blushed for no discernable reason. "I was wondering-"

"I'm sorry, Lily, mates," Scorpius said, standing up and snatching a random book from the pile on the table. "But I have to go. I'll see you all around."

He all but ran into the dark depths of the library and hoped with all his might that endless shelves would just open up and swallow him whole. He wanted what he couldn't have. What he could never have.

Scorpius hid behind a stack of books and peaked around the corner to the table he'd just left. A light from the window was shining down on the table. Kira and James snogging, Albus contemplating the prudish girl he fancied and Lily looking forlorn in the direction he'd gone. There they were the children of Potter, with the light of the sun caressing them like a lover. The sun paying homage to their perfect lineage. And here was Scorpius hiding in the shadows behind moldy books wishing that he was something, someone different.

---

Rose sat fidgeting in her seat, five minutes early to her Defense Against the Dark Arts class in order to avoid her boyfriend. She wasn't even sure she could call Stephen her boyfriend anymore. She'd hardly spoken two words to him since their row at Victoire and Teddy's wedding. He'd tried to make it better a number of times, but Rose always found a way to avoid him and his sad eyes. She didn't want to break up with him any more the she wanted him to break up with her. But she figured that it would end as soon as he graduated anyway, so staying together in the moment was only putting off the inevitable.

The door opened and a few of Rose's classmates wondered in. Outside the door there was a flash of messy brown hair. Hair that Rose would recognize anywhere. Stephen. Thinking quick she knocked her books on the floor and ducked down to retrieve them. She peaked around the legs of her desk to see that Stephen had entered the room. He stepped to and fro for a moment before trudging back out to the hall.

Rose felt her chest tighten as she watched the legs of her classmates enter the room. It seemed that he'd asked her a million times in a million different ways what was wrong, but she'd never been able to give him a straight answer. Gryffindors were supposed to be brave and she was too much of a coward to admit that she was scared.

Rose piled her books up and wiggled her way back into her chair. She kept her head down, not interested in talking to her friends. She felt guilty for making her boyfriend sad and she felt bad that she was too much of a coward to just tell him the truth. _I'm a horrible Gryffindor,_ she thought, _a horrible girlfriend._

She moaned into her desk.

"Are you all right, Rose?" a depressingly familiar voice asked. Rose looked up at the smiling but worried face her mother. Over Mum's shoulder was her Dad and Uncle Harry.

She'd known that Professor Wilsoncorp was beginning his lecture on the Last War, but she hadn't thought for a second that her Mum, Dad and Uncle would show up to speak as well. Professor Wilsoncorp liked to talk about history as much as technique. He had made a point of having as many speakers come to the class as physically possible, so why not have the heroes of the Last War come to speak when the subject came up?

Her mother and father were looking at her curiously, while Uncle Harry lingered in the background with a pleasant smile on his face. They weren't going to let this go until she either told them everything was fine, which was a lie or until they had humiliated her utterly. Rose closed her eyes and sighed, she might as well be as truthful as she ever could be about a boy with her father present.

"No, I'm not," she whispered speaking only to her mother, "can I talk to you after class, Mum?" She completely ignored her father. She didn't want to talk about anything having to do with her boyfriend with her father nearby. "Alone?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Hermione said and Rose groaned while her peers snickered at her expense.

Professor Wilsoncorp stumbled into the room with his usual gracelessness. He was a pitiful man in Rose's opinion. Such an obvious brownnoser, but somehow ignorant to his own pathetic sucking up. He'd tried many times to get Rose or any of her cousins to talk their famous relatives into coming in to speak. After many fruitless attempts, Rose assumed that he'd went to the Headmistress, knowing that she was a close friend of the family.

"All right, class, settle down, settle down," Professor Wilsoncorp called the class to order. "I've got a very special surprise for you today." Why he bothered saying that made no sense to Rose. Everyone already knew what the surprise was. "Here we have three very important speakers who have agreed to grace our class for the next few weeks. Not only to speak about their unique experiences during the Last War but also to teach all of you a few spells that they learned during the war."

Professor Wilsoncorp introduced the three of them individually and they all smiled politely to the class before taking one of the three seats at the front of the room. "Ron Weasley, Hermione Weasley and… Harry Potter." Rose rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe that Wilsoncorp had paused before saying Uncle Harry's name. But she seemed to be the only one struggled against laughter. The rest of the class was clapping politely, even the Slytherins. Even Scorpius Malfoy, who was eying Uncle Harry closely. Rose rolled her eyes again. That Slytherin was an anomaly to be sure.

"First, I'd like to collect you assignment from last class." Wilsoncorp wandered through the class collecting the homework. "And for next time I'd like a paragraph response to today's speakers."

Rose pulled a piece of parchment to scribble the assignment down and to doodle on. She'd heard the story that the three of them were going to tell and doubted that she'd hear anything new this time around. Her mother began, detailing the decisions she made during the beginning of the war. A lot of what she had to say had to do with morals and how to keep your spirit up in times of trouble. Her Dad would talk about technique, spells they used to stay inconspicuous, enchantments they used to escape the enemy. Uncle Harry would talk about the spells of the enemy and the many ways to counter those spells. None of them would talk about deeper things.

They wouldn't talk about Scorpius' aunt torturing her Mum. They wouldn't tell the class that Uncle Harry save Scorpius' father from cursed fire. They wouldn't divulge the last time any of them saw Teddy Tonks or his daughter or his son-in-law alive. They wouldn't talk about any of the things they had a hard time talking about in private.

Rose only knew about it because once a few years ago all the parents sat down all the kids and explained everything. Apparently James had been hearing some things at school and the parents realized that it was time. Time to tell their offspring what had really gone down all those years ago. It had been hard at the time. Listening to tales of her mother's torment and her father's tears over his slain brother. Uncle Harry was the hardest to listen to. His memories were brutal and lonely. Even surrounded by people he had been so alone.

Rose shook her head. It didn't matter. They wouldn't talk about it. They never talked about it, only answering the questions their children asked upon occasion.

She glanced to the back of the class where Scorpius sat, curious about his reaction to the things her parents were saying and the things they left out. He looked like he knew. That didn't make much sense to Rose. The Last War hadn't been kind to the Malfoys. Why would his father tell his son that he'd been save by the same man who he had all but condemned to die?

_Maybe it was his mother?_ Rose wondered.

The speaking ended just as Rose suspected it would. Not a single mention of all those things that would really speak to what the war was really about. The fact that they were still grieving spoke volumes in Rose's opinion, but no. Those things would stay silent. Silent as the dead they continued to mourn.

It was moments and thoughts like these that made Rose feel even guiltier about her situation with Stephen. Life was short, her parents knew that first hand. It was too short to spend any significant amount of time bemoaning what can't be changed. She needed to talk to Stephen. It wouldn't be a pleasant talk.

"Does anyone have a question for our speakers before class is adjourned? Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" Wilsoncorp looked eagerly up at Scorpius. The whole class had turned to him, but he didn't seem to notice. He was staring intently at Harry, who was looking back, curious.

"I was just wondering, Mr. Potter," he said, with genuine courtesy. "Why you refer to Lord Voldemort as Tom Riddle when everyone else calls him 'Lord Voldemort' or 'You Know Who' or any of the other names for him?" he asked.

"Now, Mr. Malfoy," Wilsoncorp said, chidingly. "That is a curious question but it doesn't really have anything to do with defense against the dark arts. So-"

"Actually, Professor Wilsoncorp," Uncle Harry interrupted. "It has a great deal to do with defense against the dark arts."

Ever the brownnoser, Wilsoncorp changed his mind instantly and his face took on a smile meant to please. "Really? Well, then do tell!" Rose tried not to gag.

"I stopped called Tom Riddle 'Voldemort' after I realized that by doing so I was giving him power over me. Power he had no right to have. When 'Voldemort' was born he was christened Thomas Marvolo Riddle. Tom Riddle being his father's name. When his mother died, her last words were the hope that he would be as handsome as his father. His given name was a way for her to dictate in some small way who he might one day become.

"Now, Scorpius," Harry said. "Words have power, we all know that being of magical stock. The easiest way to cast a spell is through the use of words. But names in particular have a lot of power because they are a way for all of us to identify ourselves. Am I Harry Potter? Or am I a father, a husband, a son? Am I all of that? Am I none of it? What real influence does my name have on who I am? When my parents chose to name me Harold James Potter, were they hoping that would be like my father in some small way? I don't know. Unfortunately I'll never know, but what I do know is that names are a way for parents to have some control over who we will become.

"By naming her son, Thomas Riddle after his father, Merope Gaunt, his mother, was trying in vain to dictate who her son would become. I think that Tom Riddle realized this. That from beyond the grave his mother, and father, had some control over his identity that he didn't want them to have. He wanted power above all else and the fact that his parents had power over his identity, something he had struggled so long with, was horrible for him. He didn't want anyone but himself to have power over him, least of all the two people who had deserted him utterly.

"When he took the name 'Voldemort' he was taking away the right his mother had to dictate his identity. From that moment on he decided that he was the master of himself. By forcing others to call him 'The Dark Lord' or 'He Who Must Not Be Named' or 'You Know Who' he was reinforcing that power he had over them and stroking his ego. He'd given himself a new name that no one could call him by. It's a tremendous ego boost.

"The point, Scorpius, is that names have power, Tom Riddle realized this and used to his own ends. By calling him 'Voldemort' or any of the other names, we give him power over us. By calling him 'Tom Riddle' we take that power back. I call him 'Tom Riddle' because he will never have power over me ever again," Harry said.

Rose stared at her uncle with wide eyes. She'd always known that he was a smart man, but she'd never heard him prove it quite so eloquently. He'd given just enough information to make sure that his listeners were informed, but also imparted a valuable piece of knowledge on them in the process.

After a few more questions Professor Wilsoncorp ended the class. Rose knew that her mother was expecting to talk to her, but she couldn't find it in her to stay behind. She needed to get her thoughts together before she talked to anyone, let alone her mother. Hermione was loving and caring and everything a good mother was supposed to be, but she was Rose's _mother_ and that automatically meant that she could never see the wrong in her own daughter.

And if Rose had been anything, she'd been wrong.

Stephen cared about her. Cared deeply if all his letters and following and talking could be seen as any indicator. And she'd treated him badly just because she was afraid. She was afraid just like everyone had been afraid of Lord Vold- Tom Riddle. People had been so afraid of him they gave him the ultimate power over them. Rose would never let anyone have that kind of power over her.

She wouldn't be afraid anymore.

But before she faced her fears head on she needed to think about what she was going to say. How exactly she was going to word her humiliating confession. How she would hold her face if worst came to worst and Stephen broke up with her for putting him off for so long. How things would have to be handled if while talking to him she decided that he needed to be let free of any obligation he felt towards her.

She was fifteen, not an idiot.

Now, she just wished that she was as brave as her Uncle Harry.


	9. How Things Are Now

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! I hope to hear from you with this chapter.

**Chapter****Nine**

How Things Are Now

_I will not display my affection for my boyfriend in public._

_I will not display my affection for my boyfriend in public._

_I will not display my affection for my boyfriend in public._

Kira dropped her quill and rubbed her hand. Technically she was supposed to be writing 'I will not display my affection for my significant other in the library,' but after forty of those she decided to change it up a bit. If only for the sake of her hand. Besides Professor Longbottom always went easy on her and James, it wasn't like he'd care that she changed the lines she was supposed to be writing.

He'd learned though, she'd give him that. James was still upset that Professor Longbottom had remembered to take their wands. As two of the most gifted magical students at Hogwarts they learned non-verbal spells a few years ago. It had been Kira's masterful idea to simply replicate the first line they'd written over and over again until the appropriate amount of space had been filled.

When Kira and James had detention together she could pace him, so that a conceivable amount of time passed before the parchment was filled with writing. It had to look believable if they wanted to be able to continue with the trick. Not terribly complicated in her opinion, but somehow James managed to screw them both. The now infamous five minute detention with Professor Snodgrass was proof of that.

Now they had to write all their lines manually and if Kira didn't adore her stupid boyfriend so much she'd have thrown something at him a long time ago. But she did adore him and at the moment she wasn't sure if that was something she should be happy about. Her throbbing wrist was testament to his infinite stupidity.

Kira glanced over at the boyfriend in question and smiled. He looked like he was berating himself for ruining their ruse. Lines weren't pleasant and as two people who had had to do many lines throughout their school careers no one knew that better then them. Honestly they both had better things to do. They had homework and snogging, he had Quidditch practice and they both could have been snogging, Albus had spoken to Daisy and probably needed more advice and then there was always snogging.

Plus they could have been snogging.

Kira looked back at James, he was shaking his hand in an effort to alleviate some of the pain in his wrist. He looked so cute she just wanted to snog him. _Damn Professor Longbottom,_ she thought, _the ultimate snog-block._

She bit her lip thinking about how nice it felt to kiss James. _James,_ she mentally sighed. _My boyfriend._ Kira winced at how girly it sounded even in her own head. She'd always promised herself that she'd never go girly for a boyfriend… But James was different. James was… well… James. She'd known him forever, he was her best mate. If she was going to get all girly for anyone it aught to be James.

Being in a relationship with him had its downsides, but Kira had been thinking about what it would be like to date him for about four years so she'd thought about most of them already. There were a few that she hadn't been expecting, but found that she really didn't mind them all that much. He was bit too handsy and didn't seem to understand that skipping class in order to snog was not something that they should do every day.

Or even every other day.

Or even just once a week.

Kira locked eyes with James. He kept glancing down at her lips. Kira rolled her eyes. It just figured that he'd want to snog. They were in the middle of a detention that they got for snogging at an inappropriate time and there wasn't a more inappropriate time then that moment. He was so thoughtless sometimes, but that was one downside to their relationship that Kira had been expecting. He was smart, a great wizard and if he put his mind to it rather quick, but when it came to certain things he was just so dense.

James licked his lips and looked at her through hooded eyes.

_Oh real seductive, Potter,_ she thought sarcastically.

Kira shook her head. James nodded his and pierced his lips. Kira tried not to laugh her ass off. James licked the air and Kira snorted. They both looked up at Professor Longbottom, he was glancing between the two of them curiously.

"I know it won't do any good," he said. "But you two should get back to your lines."

James and Kira both nodded and she returned to her lines.

_I will not display my affection for my boyfriend in public._

_I will not display my-_

"Kira…"

… _affection for my boyfriend-_

"Kira."

… _in public!_

_I will not display my affe-_

"Keeerrraahh…"

…_ction for my stupid boyfriend in public._

_I will not-_

"Kira, Kira, Kira…"

_I will never display my affection for my boyfriend ever again anywhere!_

"Kira."

"What?!" She'd finally snapped and looked at James.

"Ms. Fitzsimmons," Professor Longbottom said. "Is there a problem?"

"No, there's nothing wrong," she said through gritted teeth.

_I will not display my affection for my-_

"Psst! Kira."

… _soon to be ex-boyfriend-_

"Kira, Kira."

… _ever, ever, ever, ever again. Not even in private._

"Kira."

"I'm done, Professor Longbottom," Kira said, getting up. She laid the parchment filled with mildly threatening lines towards her boyfriend on his desk and turned to collect her things.

"I see you took some liberties with what you were supposed to be writing," Professor Longbottom said, sounding amused. _Merlin, I hope he doesn't read it out loud. James is just dense enough to take it the wrong way… Wait what's the right way?... Oh! That doesn't matter, I didn't mean it anyway… well, not entirely,_ she thought.

"I will not display my affection for my soon to be ex-boyfriend ever, ever, ever, ever again. Not even in private," Professor Longbottom read.

James gaped at Kira.

"I didn't mean it," she insisted.

"Then why did you say it?" James asked.

"I didn't say it, I wrote it!"

"So?"

"So? So what?"

"So, why did you write it?" he asked.

"You wouldn't leave me alone while I was trying to finish my work!" Kira yelled.

"I wanted to kiss you, is that so awful?"

"In the middle of a detention it's just plain stupid, James."

"Look, I don't want to talk about this right now," James snapped. He turned back to the parchment in front of him. "You finished your lines, so go."

"I didn't mean-"

"Well, that's too damn bad isn't it?"

Kira gaped at James. It was very rare that he snapped at her, even rarer that he yelled. But right in that moment he sounded genuinely pissed off. It was bad news when James Sirius Potter got pissed off. A horribly embarrassing prank usually followed in the wake of a pissed off James Sirius Potter.

Kira slung her bag over her shoulder and slumped out of the room. It just bloody well figured. They'd finally gotten together and some thoughtless anger on her part ruined everything. Tears prickled in her eyes at the thought that this might be the end. _Merlin_, she thought. _And I called him dense!_

---

James always hated to admit when he was wrong. Which seemed odd considering the fact that he was wrong a lot. He could admit to himself in some small mostly unnoticeable corner of his mind that he was wrong, but if anyone tried to call him on it… He'd never admit it, not even if that person had concrete proof. He would deny it endlessly until whoever caught being wrong would either give up and/or admit that they had in fact been the wrong one.

It was one of the perks of being infinitely annoying.

So when James entered the Gryffindor Common Room ready and willing to admit that he was wrong to Kira, who was hopefully still his girlfriend, he didn't expect to come face to face with an enraged Stephen Wood. He did though.

Stephen was wearing his serious, captain face and James knew that meant he had to be serious as well. Something James only ever was when it came to Quidditch, his family or his girlfriend. You know important things. It certainly helped the situation that James was already in a serious mood. Having to deal with the very real possibility that his girlfriend was mere moments away from breaking up with him could do that to a guy.

Honestly all James expected from this little interlude was the usual post detention talk that he got from Stephen. Wood would yell at him for a bit about being more responsible and how getting detention only meant that James wouldn't be allow to play as much Quidditch. Then Wood would make an emotional appeal. Saying something about James being one of the best players on the team and if he kept getting detention they were going to lose and no one wanted that.

In the end Stephen would let him off the hook because he was one of the best players on the team. And the back-up Seeker was only able to catch the Snitch when no one was looking.

That was what James expected. That was what always happened. That is not what happened this time.

"If you get one more detention, Potter," Stephen snapped, "you're suspended for the rest of the year."

James stared at Stephen not entirely understanding what had just been said to him. He knew what each work meant individually, but strung together as they were they didn't make much sense to him. He'd gotten so many detentions over the years and Stephen had only ever threatened suspension from playing halfheartedly. But the look on Stephen's face and seriousness of his tone told James that this was a wholehearted threat.

"What?" was the most intelligent thing that James was physically able to ask once realizing how serious Stephen was.

"I you get one more detention, Potter, you're suspended for the rest of the year," Stephen repeated.

"Why?" James asked, horrified.

"Because your sister told my girl–- Rose that I'd drop her once I graduated." James squinted in confusion, what did this have to do with Quidditch? "So, Rose has been avoiding me since your cousin's wedding and finally started talking to me today. She told me everything. How Lily had made her self conscience about our relationship and how she been avoiding me so that she doesn't have to deal with the heart ache of me dropping her as soon as I graduate. She wouldn't listen when I told her I had no intention of dropping her ever and instead insisted that we 'take a break' until _she_ graduates. Then we'll get back together if 'it feels right,'" Stephen sneered the last three words making it clear how he felt about the idea.

In fact James could see Stephen getting madder and madder with each word. He was practically screaming at James by the end of if.

"What does this have to do with Quidditch?" James asked.

"If your bratty little sister hadn't said anything in the first place Rose wouldn't have made this stupid decision," Stephen snapped. "Since I can't punish your sister, I'm punishing you. Quidditch practice in the morning. If you're late, you're suspended for the rest of the year. If you smart mouth me once, you're suspended for the rest of the year. If you screw up one of plays, you're suspended for the rest of the year. Do you get it, Potter?" Stephen asked with an evil little grin.

James swallowed and nodded. He feared that he did get it.

"If you screw up at all, I don't care how innocently, you're off the team for the rest of the year," Stephen explained before stomping up to his dorm. James stared after him for a while, stunned at what just happened.

He huffed and threw himself into the plush couch in front of the fire.

It just figured, in his opinion. He screws up with the best part of his life – Kira- and the rest of his life goes to Hell faster then you can say Merlin murky Mandrake. He knew that Stephen was being unreasonable and that if he spoke to the Headmistress about it something would be done to put the situation right… but James had a hunch that Stephen was in a hell of a lot of pain and needed to throw some of that pain at someone else. Unfortunate that someone was James and he probably wouldn't come out of it entirely unscathed.

With that thought in mind, James realized that he might be able to make this better, at least a little bit. He'd have to talk to Lily, who he was sure said something along the lines of what Stephen heard. But Lily wasn't a bitch, so James wondered if Rose said something to provoke her. That would make sense. Lily had gotten her ability to never leave well enough alone from James and if provoked they both knew how to pick at just the right thing to take their adversary down a peg or two.

He'd have to talk to Kira, as well. Maybe once he'd gotten everything sorted out with her, the whole Lily, Rose, Stephen situation would be easier to deal with. Kira was a whole lot smarter then he was and much better at delicate situations. She'd be able to have this whole thing sorted in no time.

James smiled at his decision. Things would work out for the best, they had to because there was no way James was not going to get another detention. He could make an honest mistake or lapse in judgment and his trigger happy professors would give him a detention. He was royally screwed if he didn't take care of this right away.

James got up and made his way of the staircase up to the girls' dorms, it was best if he got started tonight. He would have to talk to Kira first, she was the most pressing issue. As much as he enjoyed playing Quidditch, he'd give it up for the rest of his life if it meant he could stay with Kira. Honestly if Wood really wanted to punish him, he aught to threaten him with taking Kira away. James would loose his bloody mind without Kira.

James jogged up a few steps to the girls' dorms when something he truly didn't expect happened. The stairs flattened, James roared in surprised, someone above him screamed in shock and they both slid down into the rapidly filling Common Room. Pushing the robes out of his face, James tried to get up, but who ever had slid down with him was currently laying on top of him.

A quick glance showed him that it was his tear stained cousin, Rose. James glanced up at the crowd around them. Kneeling by his head, was an obviously upset and unsure Kira and behind her was a stricken Stephen who couldn't take his eyes off of Rose. Rose who couldn't even meet his gaze and Lily standing guiltily to the side.

_No,_ James thought, _this won't work at all._


	10. Kiss Me, Love

A/N: Sorry for the long wait on this chapter, but I think it's pretty awesome! Tell me what you think!

**Chapter Ten**

Kiss Me, Love

In retrospect Albus should have known that Daisy wasn't the girl for him. Unfortunately he didn't know that at fifteen. He thought that she was the best thing that ever happened to him, he thought that he would spend the rest of his life with her. In truth she was everything he ever thought he wanted, so thinking he was fated to be with her forever wasn't half as delusional as it might have seemed.

She was smart and that was very important to Albus. He took his own intellect very serious and wasn't interested in being with a girl who didn't take it just as seriously as he did. The fact that Daisy would rather study with him then go to Hogsmeade and goof off told Albus volumes about how seriously she told her intellect.

She was shy and reserved, which suited Albus just fine. He didn't want a girl who would be mouthing off to her friends about their love life. Daisy just wasn't that kind of girl. She obviously wanted to date him, or she wouldn't have kissed him after Teddy and Victoire's wedding, but she was shy enough to be seriously put off when James walked in on them. Her reserved nature wouldn't allow her to be with him if James had told anyone. She wanted her private life to be private.

She was also very pretty and as much as Albus wanted to say that her physical attractiveness didn't matter as much as her other attributes, he refused to lie to himself about it. Her pale skin, freckle covered cheeks and light red hair all called to him on a base level that was so important to a teenage boy. Her short stature made him feel strong and manly. Her curvy figure shaped her body perfectly. She was a small, sweet package of loveliness and Albus felt that he would have been physically drawn to her even if he didn't care for her other more important attributes.

Daisy was sitting next to him, seemingly content being in his presents. They had talked and Daisy had agreed to be his girlfriend, but hadn't yet let him kiss her. Albus felt that it would take quite a while and quite a bit of privacy to get her comfortable enough to kiss him. There would be no kissing in public or snogging in broom closets for Daisy Doe.

And if Albus was entirely honest with himself, which he liked to be, the fact that he'd never get to kiss Daisy in public didn't bother him. He was just as shy and reserved as she was when it came to personal matters like snogging. Screaming at his siblings was something that the whole school needed to see. Because if the whole student body didn't see it, they would all think he was just like them.

If there was anything Albus didn't want it was for the student body to think he was like his siblings. Least of all Daisy. She didn't need to know that at heart he was just like his siblings. She wouldn't understand.

"Psst!"

Both Albus and Daisy looked up from their school books. Albus looked back and forth before turning back to his books.

"Pssstt! Al!?"

Albus looked up in time to see James give a quick wave and duck behind a stack of books. Albus sighed and turned to Daisy who had seen his brother's call. There was no getting out of this. James would just keep bothering them until Albus complied and found out what his brother wanted.

"I better find out what's up with him," Albus said, laying on the reluctance. He really wanted to sound like leaving her side was painful to him. The smile on Daisy's face told him that he had succeeded. "I'll be right back."

Albus got up and walked cautiously to the pile of books that James had vanished behind. Albus had a feeling that James wasn't planning on pranking him, his brother wouldn't have called him over if he was. James preferred his pranks to be partially the fault of the victim. If Albus had been just wondering through the library and saw his brother hiding behind a stack of books he would have been far more worried, but it was James one never could be too cautious.

Albus looked down the aisle but James was no where in sight. Thinking that he must have been mistaken and James did intend to prank him, Albus turned on his heels to make a hasty retreat, but before he could get back to Daisy a pair of hands appeared out of no where pulled Albus into a secluded corner of the library. The floating hands, which no doubt belonged to James, pushed Albus into a dusty, musty old chair before pulling the Invisibility Cloak off the body they were attached to.

"Dad told you not to use that for foolish purposes!" Albus chastised.

"Are you kidding, Al?" James asked, sitting next to Albus in an equally old and dusty chair. "I've only ever used this fine piece of cloth for intelligent purposes."

Albus scoffed. "What? You'd call kidnapping your younger brother from a date intelligent?"

"If that was what you two prudes call a date then you should be thanking me." James crossed his arms and attempted to look smug.

Albus just scowled at him. He didn't have to defend or explain his relationship to anyone, let alone his brother. James was too damn nosy for his own good and considering the state that his and Kira's relationship seemed to be in as of late, Albus wouldn't have asked him for advice anyway. Not that he thought he needed advice. Though a few words of wisdom concerning how to get Daisy to snog him wouldn't be remiss. But he wouldn't ask James. No he'd be damned before he asked James.

"What'd you want?" Albus asked, before he did something stupid. Like asked James for advice or punch the smug look off of his face. _Though_, Albus thought, _the_ _latter_ _does_ _have_ _its_ _benefits_.

"Don't think for a moment that it isn't killing me to have to ask you this, but… ay mee ye heeel…p." Albus stared at his brother. The idea of punching him didn't seem overly violent all of the sudden.

Summoning what patients he had, Albus repeated, "ay mee ye heel-p?"

James sighed dramatically. "No! Why the bloody hell would I say, 'ay mee ye heel-p'? That's daft!"

"Well if the shoe fits," Albus said nonchalantly.

"I assume you're insulting me and shall therefore return the favor… Your so called girlfriend won't snog you because the stick up her bum has a stick up its bum."

Albus flipped James the bird and moved to leave.

"No! Don't go, you blasted fool!" James yelled.

"Why? Why should I stay when all you're going to do is insult me and my girlfriend?!"

"Because I need your help!"

Albus stopped dead in his tracks. It was a rare day when James Sirius Potter asked for help. Of course it was very often that James needed help and got it but he didn't get that help because he out right asked for it. He'd word his request it such a way that who ever he was talking to would realize that it was in their best interest to help him.

Now that Albus thought about it, the only time he could remember James asking for help was at Teddy and Victoire's wedding, but that seemed to be more a call of desperation then a request for help.

This was huge, if Albus didn't handle this situation right James might never ask for help again and Albus would never again get the chance to push his obvious superiority in his brother's face. Because to be honest the gloating that followed Albus helping James was the only reason that Albus would even consider helping his brother. Oh, sure they were brothers and that should be enough, but after all the problems James had created between him and Daisy, Albus wasn't in the most giving mood where his brother was concerned.

"What did you do?" Albus asked turning back to James. He asked the question gently so that James would know he was interested in helping and not in blaming him for whatever he'd no doubt done.

"I didn't do anything, but that isn't keeping me from having to deal with the consequences," James sighed.

_Damn_, Albus thought. _Maybe he really does need help. I've never seen him so serious._ Albus sat back down next to James.

"What's going on then?"

"I don't know if you know, but Rose was crying in the loo at Teddy and Victoire's wedding-" James began.

"Wasn't that when you got the bright idea to tell Uncle Ron that you had been snogging Kira?"

"Yes. But I just found out what got Rose crying in the first place last night." James sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Well, what was it?"

"Lily, yes our sister Lily, told Rose that Stephen would break up with her once he graduated. So Rose broke up with Stephen before he could and when Stephen asked her why she would think he'd break up with her once he graduated, she told him what Lily had told her-"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Albus interrupted again. "Let me get this straight. Lily told Rose that Stephen would break up with her, so Rose broke up with Stephen first, when Stephen asked Rose why she broke up with him she told him what Lily told her… right?"

James contemplated what Albus said for a moment. "Correct."

"All right you may proceed."

"So, Stephen got super pissed and decided that since he can't punish Lily, he'll punish me. I figure that if I can get Rose back together with Stephen he'll let up on me."

"How is he punishing you?" Albus asked.

"If I get one more detention I'm suspended from playing for the rest of the year," James said horror struck.

"I don't think he can do that."

"Sure he can he's the captain."

Albus sighed and shook his head. "I meant I don't think ethically he can do that. It must be against some rule or other to pick on an individual player. Besides if he hasn't suspended you before, there is no ethical reason why he could suspend you now. If we took it up with the Head of House, I'm sure something could be done about it."

"No, I don't want to do that," James said.

"But James, it's the easiest way to solve this problem."

"I know that, but if we talked to a professor about it they'll suspend Wood and I don't want that. He's in a lot of pain right now and I know he's not thinking very clearly. If I did bring it up with a professor and he got suspended I think he'll just get worse, besides some Quidditch scoots are coming to check out his performance, he has to be able to play."

Albus stared at James completely dumbfounded.

"I think that's the most selfless thing I've ever heard you say."

"Well, you see my problem don't you?" Albus nodded. "I've got to do something for my own sake, because lets be honest it'll be a cold day in hell when I go most of the year without getting a detention, but I've also got to do something about Rose and Stephen, they're miserable and Lily isn't too happy either," James added.

"I see what you mean," Albus mused. "But it's also not our place to go messing around in other people's personal lives. To a certain extent they have to figure it out on their own."

"To a certain extent?" James repeated. "Does that mean you'll help?"

Albus sighed, shook his head and then grinned.

"Yeah, I'll help."

The two Potter put their heads together and began conspiring.

---

On the other side of the library a very guilty Lily Potter stared at the object of her affection. If only he knew. He had such a regal way of holding himself, when he wasn't running away from her that is. He never slouched, which Lily quite liked. In her mind it meant that he was confident and Lily liked confident boys. But she wasn't about to tell him that, he wouldn't understand. He never understood anything she said to him. Plus he was too close to her brothers. The very same brothers who both knew about how she broke up Rose and Stephen. She hadn't meant to… Not really.

Rose had hurt her feelings by commenting on her romantic relationships, so Lily returned the favor. Now her cousin was miserable and Stephen was taking his anger at her out on her brother. Life just wasn't fair.

James, in his anger, would tell Scorpius how horrible she was and then Scorpius would finally forget about her and find another girl. A Slytherin girl who his family would approve of and Lily would be left with all her unresolved feelings for him. She would be just as miserable as Rose was. Perhaps that was exactly what she deserved. To be a miserable as the poor girl who had broken up with her boyfriend over a fact that Lily had pulled out of thin air.

Honestly, anyone with eyes could see that Stephen didn't want to break up with Rose, not even when he graduated. Not even when he became a huge Quidditch star with millions of fan girls all around the world. Not even when it got really tough to be with her. He would always want to be with her, everyone knew that… except for Rose apparently.

And now because of her completely fabricated insult James was going to be kicked off the Quidditch team. Because let's be honest there was no way he was going go the rest of the year without getting a detention. While Lily did realize that it would be very easy to simply tell a professor what's going on and get Stephen removed from the position of captain, but… Well, that wouldn't clear her conscience. In fact it would just make things worse.

Lily sighed. She needed to make this better and she couldn't possibly do it alone. Rose wouldn't listen to her. She'd told her cousin multiple times that she hadn't meant what she said, but Rose would hear none of it. When Lily tried approaching Stephen, he'd completely ignored her. She needed someone that both parties would listen to. Or at the very least someone who would listen to her. She couldn't stand the guilt anymore.

Her mind made up, Lily stood and made her way over to Scorpius. He was engrossed in his studies and thankfully didn't notice her presence until she was seated. She hoped that he would be too polite to run off on her with her sitting right next to him.

"Lily," he stammered, obviously completely shocked that she was sitting so close. "What are you… is there something I… what's… um…"

"I need someone to talk to, Scorpius," she said. "Everyones mad at me and rightly so I did something horrible." Lily leaned her elbows on the table and covered her face with her hands.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad, Lily," Scorpius said, soothingly.

"I told my cousin her boyfriend would break up with her when he graduated, so she broke up with him before he could and now her boyfriend is threatening to kick James off the Quidditch team if he gets another detention," she summarized. Lily looked over at him. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't already heard all this from my brothers. You seemed very chummy with them the other day."

"We weren't talking about anything like that," he admitted.

"It doesn't matter. I'm in deep shit of James gets kicked off the Quidditch team. What do I do?" she moaned.

"Um…" He looked so adorably confused, Lily just couldn't help herself.

"Oh, Scorpius." Lily threw her arms around Scorpius' neck and hugged him.

"J-jus-just a qu-quick quest-question," he stammered, putting an arm cautiously around her waist. Lily pulled her head from his shoulder and looked at him. Their faces literally centimeters apart. What she wouldn't give to close those centimeters. "W-why did you s-say th-that to your c-cousin?"

"She commented on my romantic past and how I've never been able to keep a boyfriend for more then two weeks. She really hurt my feelings so I said something I knew would hurt her feelings," Lily said, looking down.

Scorpius placed a tentative hand under Lily's chin forcing her to look up at him again. "I don't know what to say, Lily. But I am sorry that she hurt your feelings."

"I acted immaturely and now I have to deal with the consequences," she whispered.

"Have you tried explaining why you said what you did?"

Lily sighed and laid her head back on Scorpius' shoulder. "Of course I have! She won't listen."

"If she won't listen, I don't know how much help I'll be," Scorpius said, pulling back a bit.

Lily looked up at him and bit her lip. He gulped. "I just need someone to talk to you, you know?"

"I'll always be there for you, Lily," he promised. She smiled, looked down and then up again.

"I need someone who will me feel better when I'm down."

"I can do that."

"I need someone will always care about me and never judge me, if he knows I'm wrong," Lily went on.

"Lily I don't think I understand what you're talking about," Scorpius said.

"Kiss me, you beautiful fool."


	11. With or Without Your Help

A/N: READ AND REVIEW FOR MY SAKE IF ANYTHING!!!

**Chapter Eleven**

With or Without Your Help

When Stephen Wood was twelve years old he did something stupid. He'd gotten a bad grade in Charms and riled up by his youthful anger, he'd lashed out in a classmate who had gotten a better grade. After a month's worth of detentions Stephen decided that letting anger get the best of him was foolish. The end result was far worse then the mild satisfaction of making some one else as miserable as you are. And for years that personal decision served Stephen exceptionally well. But all that was before Rose Weasley came stumbling into his life.

She mixed up everything. Any sane man would've dropped her as soon as he realized how much of a problem her family was going to be. But it seemed that Stephen had abandoned all of his precious sanity as soon as Rose agreed to be his girlfriend. And even that had broken one of his rules. He'd never dated a girl more then one year older or younger then him so that they weren't terribly more mature or immature then he was.

But Rose had just spilled her beautiful red hair and creamy skin all over that rule. And for the longest time Stephen had been thrilled that he'd broken his rule and separated himself from sanity. Because thus far the benefits (Rose, being with Rose, kissing Rose, touching Rose) had far out weighed the risks (dying at the hands of her family, being hexed, cursed, poisoned by her family).

It was to good being with her that when things started going down hill, Stephen got desperate and when he got desperate he got stupid. So when things finally blew and Rose calmly told him that she didn't think it would be a good idea for them to continue seeing each other, Stephen did something incredibly stupid. It was probably the stupidest thing he'd ever done.

He agreed with her.

Stephen was still kicking himself for that one.

But looking back on the decision he understood completely why he'd done it. He wanted Rose to be happy and if she thought she'd be happier without him, who was he to argue?

Stephen figured that as long as he was being stupid he might as well go all out. He, he'd looked one of his best players in the eye and threatened to kick him off the team if he didn't accomplish an impossible task. Which was stupid on many levels. The most obvious being that James Potter was one of his best players, kicking him off the team would ensure a loss. The slightly less obvious repercussion of his stupidity was that if Gryffindor lost the Cup under his captainship the Quidditch scouts would never consider him for a position a professional team. And then there was the possible punishment from within the school. If James told a single professor what Stephen had said, he could be stripped of his captainship. And without the captainship his career as a professional Quidditch player was over before it began.

The worst part in Stephen's opinion was that he knew all of that and couldn't find it in himself to care. A future without Rose seemed bleak anyway, it couldn't be that much worse without Quidditch as well. He would get some dead end job, like alone whiling away in misery over his broken dreams and slowly wait for death.

Sweet merciful death.

Stephen wondered into the library wishing and dreading the possibility that Rose would be there. He knew it was horribly masochistic to want to see her when he couldn't talk to her or kiss her or just be with her but he couldn't help himself. He still wanted to see her. He still wanted to talk to her. She had said something about "being just friends." Stephen had dismissed the idea initially, because girls never meant that they would actually be your friend when they said that. But the idea had merit.

If Rose was in his life in someway shape or form his future, all of the sudden, didn't seem as bleak.

Stephen scanned the library for her long silky red hair, her most obvious trait, so that he might ask her about her day, tell her about his own (minus the whole morbid outlook on his future) so that they could start their new relationship- excuse me, friendship- out right.

He caught a flash of red hair and for one paralyzing instant he thought that it was Rose snogging the lips off of Scorpius Malfoy. But a closer look told him that it was in fact Lily Potter running her fingers through the older boy's white blonde hair. As Stephen watched with morbid fascination Malfoy tightened his arm around her waist all but pulling her onto his lap. They seemed so completely lost in each other that they didn't notice the wide eyed looks of their classmates none of which were being that stealthy while gawking.

Now Stephen wasn't currently Lily's biggest fan but even he wondered about how this particular liaison would pan out. Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter were well known enemies. Their bad blood went back to their school days. Draco had never even thanked Harry for saving his life that was how bad things still were between them. Harry might welcome Scorpius into the family but there was no way Draco would ever welcome Lily.

She was the mixture of two families he couldn't abide. The Potters and the Weasleys.

And with the connection she had to her family there was no way she'd renounce her own family in favor of his. And that was the only way that maybe, maybe Draco would accept her. She never would though. Stephen felt a prang of sympathy for Lily. Her relationship with Scorpius seemed just as hopeless as his was with Rose. There was nothing they could do if one of them didn't turn his/her back on his/her family.

Stephen turned away from the new couple. They would realize the tough spot they were in soon enough. And even though Stephen had wanted to cause Lily as much trouble as she'd caused him, he suddenly felt pity for her more then anger. Her situation seemed to have more potentially heart breaking then his. At least he'd be able to have Rose in his life somehow. As soon as Draco found out about his son's new girlfriend everything would come crashing down for the two of them. Stephen wouldn't be surprised if Draco and his father came to Hogwarts and physically removed the youngest Malfoy from school.

Scorpius always had been a bit different from the rest of the Malfoy's. For one thing he wasn't a complete tosser. Even though Stephen had never had much interaction with any Malfoy except for Scorpius he'd heard the stories from his parents. His father, Oliver, talked about how both Draco and his father had tried to foil his Quidditch aspiration. But the most damning stories came from his mother. Apparently Draco had hexed her, forced her to deliver a cursed necklace to the headmaster. The package had never reached its intended victim and instead had damn near killed his mother, Katie.

When Stephen realized that he'd be forced to attend school with the son of the man who almost killed his mother, he'd been more then prepared to hate the boy. But Scorpius had proven himself nothing like his infamous family. Stephen had often wondered what kind of friction his friendship with the Potter boys caused at home. But Stephen was sure that it would be nothing compared to the explosion that was sure to take place when this new development was revealed.

With one last look at the blissfully oblivious couple, Stephen slipped from the library determined to find Rose. He was on his way back to the Gryffindor Common Room when two pairs of hands reached out and pulled him into a broom closet. Two pairs of hands that were much too large to belong to girls.

---

Kira watched, mildly amused and immensely confused, as her boyfriend and his brother pulled Stephen Wood into the broom closet across from the library. Unable to come up with a plausible reason why James would force his Quidditch captain into the broom closet with himself and his brother. Kira made her way over to the door and pulled it open. Three surprised and slightly guilty faces stared out at her from the cramped space.

"Kira, babe," James said, casually running a hand through his hair. "What can I do for you?" Albus rolled his eyes at James' bedroom voice.

Kira shook her head. He always picked the wrong time to try to entice her into a snog. Honestly he was standing in a broom closet with his brother and a clearly uncomfortable Stephen Wood. Kira was getting the feeling that James would only be satisfied if they spent their every waking moment snogging. Even then he would complain about her annoying need to sleep every night and her refusal to let him snog her while she slept.

"Normally, I'd ask if I could join you for a snog," Kira said, sarcastically. Even though, normally she would have, present circumstances kept her from doing so. "But," she continued before James managed to get too excited. "Under the current circumstances it seems a bit cramped in there."

Albus snickered at her teasing tone and James harrumphed, obviously upset.

"About these circumstance…" Kira began.

"Yeah, babe?" James asked.

"Stop calling me that," she snapped.

"Sorry, love."

"About these circumstances," she began again. "Should I be worried?"

"Worry?" James repeated. "About what?"

"You've pulled an attractive man into a-"

"Attractive? You better be talking about me," James said indignantly.

Kira sighed. "Did you forcibly pull yourself into that broom closet?"

James blinked. "No, I pulled Wood into this broom closet. But I'm your boyfriend so you should only be referring to me as attractive."

"So, I can't find other blokes attractive because we're together?" Kira asked.

"That's right."

"Do you find other girls attractive?" she asked, dangerously.

"It's a trap, James," Albus whispered.

"He's right," Wood added.

James swallowed audibly and thought a moment. "I don't find any girl more attractive then I find you… attractive?" He smiled, pleased with his jumbled logic.

"Exactly," Kira said, crossing her arms. "Sort of. Look here Potter. I'm going to find other boys attractive and sometimes I'm going to find them more attractive then I find you. But!" she held up a hand before James could interrupt. "I'll never like or fancy or care about another bloke like I fancy and care about you. Which is the only thing you should be worrying about, you great lummox!"

"Well, all right then," James conceded. "You were saying…"

"You've pulled-" James' eyebrows rose "-your captain-" he smiled, "into a broom closet with yourself and your brother. A broom closet that you'd usually use to snog me in. So, what the bloody hell is going on? Because if you've started pulling boys into broom closets I think that's something I deserve to know about."

"I'm not sure what you're asking," James admitted. Kira rolled her eyes.

Albus sighed. "She's asking if you plan on snogging us, James."

"Kira! That's mad!" James exclaimed.

"Look at the evidence, Potter. You, broom closet, several someone elses. It's not outside the realm of possibility and it most certainly is not mad!"

"Like I'd cheat on you with a bloke!" James said.

"So, you'd cheat on me with a girl?" Kira didn't like tying James up in his words, but she had to admit that the flummoxed look on his face was worth it.

"If I were going to-" James began.

"Merlin, no," Albus whispered.

"-it would be with a girl."

"Hmmm… And you got upset when I said that Stephen is attractive and you're thinking about snogging other girls in broom closets," Kira said.

"That's amazing," Stephen said. "That girls think like that. Like Rose assuming that I'd break up with her when I graduated, when it hadn't even crossed my mind."

"So, you didn't plan on breaking up with her?" James asked, looking away from Kira for a moment.

"Bloody hell, no! I'd have toughed it out until she graduated. You two and the rest of your family drove both of us crazy, but I'd have been more then happy to spend the rest of our relationship dealing with it if only she'd given me the chance."

"So, she honestly broke up with you because of what Lily said?" Albus asked.

"She said it was more so because of the way she reacted to what Lily said," Stephen said.

"What does that mean?" James asked.

"I haven't a clue," Stephen admitted.

"Oh, you guys are so dumb!" Kira exclaimed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" her boyfriend demanded.

"She feels ashamed that she let Lily affect the way she treated you, Stephen," Kira told the Quidditch captain. "Rose feels like a coward for not telling you that she didn't feel secure in your relationship."

"So…" Stephen pressed.

"So, she pulled away from you before you could pull away from her. Rose feels like she's protecting herself from an even deeper heartbreak by ending the relationship now instead of waiting until you graduate and seeing what happens," Kira explained.

"But nothing would have happened when I graduate!"

"Did you tell her that? Or did you tell her that you thought it was a good idea to break up?" Kira said knowingly.

Stephen got very quiet and Kira knew the answer. Rose had alluded to the possibility that Stephen hadn't fought for their relationship and that that had confirmed her belief that they were better off apart. Kira had her reservations on that front, but had decided to reserve judgment until she'd spoken with Stephen. Now that she had, she figured out what actually happened.

"I just wanted her to be happy!" Stephen exclaimed.

"Boys just don't get it," Kira sighed. "There are times when your girlfriend wants you to agree with her, that she needs you to just shut up and agree with her. And then are other times when your girlfriend needs you to shut her up and tell her she's wrong. To fight against the logic she's come up with until she's sees that she's wrong."

"I should have fought with her?"

"That seems wrong somehow," Albus said.

"I'll admit that, Al," Kira said. "But it's true, if you want to keep a girl sometimes you need piss her off."

"But I don't want to make you mad," James said.

"Anger is natural and normal in a healthy relationship. You all should be worried if you're in a relationship that where there is only happiness and good will. It means that your relationship lacks depth. That relationship is not going to last."

"Are you sure?" Albus asked. "You know what never mind."

"Back to the crux of the matter," James said. "How do we get Stephen and Rose back together knowing that neither of them really wanted to break up?"

"Regardless of what you might think, James," Kira said, "this matter is not your business."

"But if I don't get them back together I'll get kicked off the Quidditch team!"

"No, you won't," Stephen insisted. "It was wrong of me to even threaten that. Completely unethical. If there's any chance of me making it on to a professional Quidditch team we have to win the Quidditch Cup. The only way we're going to do that is if all my best players are on the field."

James grinned and did a little happy dance. "Is that your sick, guy way of apologizing for losing your temper?" Kira asked. Stephen shrugged and Kira sighed.

"Oh!" The four of them turned towards the utterance. Standing a few feet from then was Lily and Scorpius. "It looks like this closet is taken." Lily took Scorpius' hand and pulled him down the hall and around the corner.

"What was about?" Albus asked.

"They were snogging in the library," Stephen said. James, Albus and Kira turned to him.

"About time," James muttered.

"Regardless, the shit will hit the fan for them soon enough. Surely everyone and their FATHERS will know what happened by morning," Kira said.

"Damn you're right."

Every last one of them thinking about what this burgeoning new relationship would mean for all those involved.


	12. For Better or Worse

A/N: I screwed up the ages for the kids, I'm very sorry, but here is a guide for how old everyone is in relation to each other.

Stephen Wood: 17

James Potter and Kira Fitzsimmons: 16

Albus Potter, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy: 15

Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley: 14

Sorry for the mix up, but its too late to correct the error at this point and to be honest I really don't care all that much. And another creative issue is that in my story George marries Luna. These are creative choices at this point, sorry if you don't like it, but I'm not going to change it.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES MY LIFE WORTH LIVING ANYMORE!!! (JUST KIDDING, HEHE).**

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling accept it, I have.

**Chapter Twelve**

For Better or Worse

Scorpius slid his lips over Lily's shoulder up her neck and behind her ear. He nibbled on the tender skin there, holding on tighter to her trim waist as she giggled. She always seemed to be smiling for these last few weeks and the fact that Scorpius was no doubt the cause of that happiness made him smile. In spite of- No, he wouldn't think about that, not while Lily was murmuring happy nonsense into his throat.

He shook with silent laughter as she pushed her fingers under his knitted vest and pulled his button down shirt from his trousers. Lily seemed as eager to get him out of his cloths as he was to get her out of her cloths. Of course neither had managed to entirely accomplish the task because of their current location. They couldn't really mess around in a broom closet during lunch. But that didn't stop Lily from forcing her seeking fingers under his shirt and creating a puddle of desire where his brain used to be.

Scorpius slid his hand up from her waist until they tangled into her hair. He forced her lips from his throat and attacked them with his own. His heart dropped into his stomach. He absolutely loved the feeling of her lips moving over his. The tiny mewing sounds she made when he nipped at her kiss swollen lips. The heart tingling feel of her fingers dancing over his flesh. The tickle of her long eyelashes against his cheek. All those little things that told him she was _his_. Finally _his_.

Of course there were other things that told him she was his, but the parts he liked most were the subtle physical indicators. Like when she held his hand as they walked down the hall or the way she'd hug him after he received yet another Howler from his father or grandfather. He still wasn't sure which prat from his House had ratted him out, but that didn't matter as much as the glorious girl in his arms and the feel of her hands on his back and her lips moving against his.

Lily broke their kiss and looked dreamily up into his eyes. "Lunch is almost over," she said.

Scorpius sighed. That meant that their precious snogging time was over. If either of them wanted to get anything to eat they would have to hurry. With one last lingering kiss on her sweet lips, Scorpius began the task of fixing his clothes. Lily re-buttoned the top few buttons of her blouse, pulled her robes back on and muttered a spell to fix her hair.

"How do I look?" she asked, coyly.

"Beautiful, as always," he said.

Lily smiled, reached up on her toes and kissed him. Scorpius was about to deepen the kiss when a loud bang on the outside of the door startled them apart. Lily slowly pushed the door open to reveal the perpetually annoyed face of Filch.

"Headmistress' office," he barked, "Now!"

"Why?" Lily demanded. "We weren't doing anything wrong."

"You were snogging," he insisted.

"You can't prove that," Lily insisted right back. "Besides, even if we were wouldn't that be an infraction handled by you or a professor?"

"Don't get smart with me, young lady," Filch snapped. "The Headmistress has requested you presence. Apparently both your parents are here." Lily paled. "So are yours, Malfoy."

Lily gasped and grabbed Scorpius' arm. Filch pushed the two stunned teenagers down the hall towards the Headmistress' office.

Once Scorpius got over his initial shock he began mentally kicking himself. How had he not seen this coming? The Howlers, the letters from his mother and grandmother all of them demanding that he end not only his ungodly relationship with Lily but all associating with the Potters. In concise, polite letters Scorpius refused. He would not be bossed around by a bunch of people who don't know what it means to lose.

Scorpius wrapped his arm around Lily's shoulders and pulled her to his side, so that when his parents (and no doubt his grandparents as well) saw him, they'd know what he'd chosen. He knew he was only a teenager and making a big decision, like parting ways with his family, would be something he'd have to deal with for the rest of his life. Depending on how his mother reacted he might never speak to her again. His children would never meet their paternal grandparents.

Scorpius' heart started pounding.

It was a lot to give up for a relationship that might not even last. Even if it didn't and he got back in good with his family they'd never let him forget it. They'd push him around for the rest of his life. They'd pick his wife, his job, his house, his everything. But if he heeded his family's demands now he'd be under their collective thumb from that moment on. So it was far more logical to stand up to them now and get out while he still had the good sense to realize they didn't have his best interests at heart but their own.

"Scorpius," Lily whispered. He looked down into her frantic brown eyes. "We can pretend to break up. Just don't do anything stupid."

Filch muttered the password so that neither of them would hear and shoed them up to the office, Scorpius could hear the arguing going on above. They stood outside the closed door of Headmistress McGonagall's office, simply staring at each other.

"I'm going to do what's right, Lily." Scorpius leaned down and stole a kiss while silently bidding the door to open. The arguing stopped abruptly. Scorpius looked into Lily's eyes and said, "There are only two people who decide what goes on in our relationship and we are them."

"Scorpius," his father snapped. "Get away from that chit!"

"My daughter is not a chit, you ungrateful slime bag!" Mrs. Potter growled.

"Ungrateful-"

"Mrs. Potter is right, Father," Scorpius said, cutting him off. "On several counts but first and foremost Lily is not a _chit_, she's my girlfriend and she deserves your respect though I doubt she'll get it."

"Plus you are ungrateful," Lily muttered.

"Lily," her father chastised.

"Well, he is."

"Now is not the time." It was a gentle reprimand that bespoke no tension or upset about the current situation.

Scorpius looked away from his father and mother, to the Potters. Harry Potter had always been a man he admired. At first from afar because he saved his father's life when there had been no real cause for him to do so. The admiration had increased one hundred fold once Scorpius met the Potter boys. They knew all about the bad blood between their fathers and hadn't let that stop them from befriending him. Which spoke volumes for how they were raised. None of the Potters or Weasleys held his last name against him as his family held Lily's last name against her. And then there was the talk they had a few months ago after his DADA class. Harry talked about courage and standing up for what you know is right. He told Scorpius exactly what happened the night Harry saved his father's life. How Draco had threatened him, how they'd fought and how Harry had risked his own life to save Draco's. Making it very clear to Scorpius who the bigger and better man was.

"McGonagall," Draco snapped drawing everyone's attention back to him. "Have a House Elf pack my son's belongings we're leaving now."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Mr. Malfoy?" The Headmistress asked. "Scorpius is sixteen as of two days ago, he's old enough to decide whether or not he wants to stay in school. I will not let you forcibly remove him for school for something as silly as who is dating. You can't do anything without his consent, I won't allow it."

"Fine," Draco turned to his son. "Unhand that- girl," he sneered the word, "and pack your things, we're leaving now."

"Didn't you hear the Headmistress? You can't make me," Scorpius said crossing his arms.

"You are my son!"

"That's enough, Draco," Harry snapped. "You have no power over him and your status as his father doesn't change that fact. If he wishes to stay you can't stop him."

"I'm his father," Draco sneered. "He'll do as I tell him."

"I'm not you, Father!" Scorpius yelled. "I'll not do as you tell me like you did and do with grandfather. I'm my own person and if you can't respect that then we have a problem."

"Scorpius," Draco's voice low and dangerous, "either you go to you dorm and pack you things or don't bother coming home when term ends in a week."

Scorpius looked past his father to the sad eyes of his mother. He knew she wanted him to just bend to his father's will. She wanted him to stay in her life and they both knew would be hard if Scorpius was at odds with Draco, but there was no helping it. He would try as hard as he could to keep her in his life, he'd already made his choice.

"I'm going to finish the term, I'm going to date Lily Potter and I'm going to graduate in two years," Scorpius said.

"Come on," Draco grabbed his mother's arm.

"But, he's our son-" she began to protest.

"We don't have a son."

The office door slammed shut behind them.

---

Lily gazed unhappily at Scorpius' noble profile. She had no idea why he hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor for the bravery he'd just shown. He was so smart she couldn't imagine him turning his back on his family just for her. He had to have another reason. Something more rational. She hoped for the sake of their relationship that he hadn't put too much pressure on them.

It was true, they had been together for four months and that was three and half months longer then most of her relationships tended to last but too much pressure could destroy a relationship between two emotionally charged teenagers, surely he knew that. Surely he had a better reason for what he'd done. But in her utterly shocked state Lily could only think of herself and what this change would do to their relationship.

She knew it was selfish but she couldn't seem to help herself. He'd been utterly abandoned by his parents and she didn't know what to do. So, she just held his hand and worried silently, hoping she was being supportive enough and tried not to cry. There was no telling what would happen now.

"Do you have any money of your own, Scorpius?" her father asked breaking the silence that had prevailed after the Malfoy's departure.

"I have a vault that my parents set up when I was a child, there's supposed to be several thousand gallons in it and maybe ten thousand more I was to get on my birthday," Scorpius answered. His voice sounded hollow to Lily. Not sad necessarily but empty.

"I'll talk to Bill," her mother said, "make sure it happened and that there's no way for Draco or his father or anyone to touch money."

"Good. Can she Floo through the fireplace in your office, Headmistress?" Harry asked turning to McGonagall.

"Of course." The two women shuffled off to the fireplace. Harry turned back to Scorpius.

"Do you have any other family you could stay with?" he asked.

"He's old enough to get his own place, Daddy," Lily said, meekly. Scorpius squeezed her hand.

"There's my great aunt Andromeda, but I've only ever written letters to her, we've never actually met."

"That wouldn't work anyway," Harry said. "Andromeda moved in with a friend when Teddy graduated. There's barely enough room for the two of them."

"Well, he's got the money," Ginny said, returning to the conversation. "Bill said he'd overseen the transfer himself and that as long as Scorpius has the only key his parents won't be able to touch it."

"That's good," Lily said. "You could get a flat or something."

"She's right, Scorpius. Or we could figure out someone you could stay with until you graduated," her father suggested.

"The only friends I have that I'd even consider living with are your sons, so…" Scorpius shrugged the idea off as if it bared no consideration, but Lily recognized the look on her father's face. He was thinking, he was considering.

"Ginny, can I talk to you for a moment?" Harry and Ginny moved to a corner of the office.

Lily felt like she might hyperventilate. Living with her boyfriend, even for just two summers, was huge. Plus they'd be under the same roof as her parents and her brothers all of whom would be bent on keeping them as far away from each other as possible on the off chance that they decided to shag each other. Or already were shagging each other. They weren't but that wouldn't stop her family from freaking out every time they kissed.

But if they were crafty they would push their boundaries just a bit. For all her past boyfriends, Lily had very little experience being physical with a boy. The light patting she'd been doing with Scorpius was the farthest she'd ever gone and the prospect of doing more both excited and scared her. Then again if she was going to shag anyone she'd want it to be someone like Scorpius. Someone who wanted her for herself not for her looks.

And if she did decide to shag Scorpius it would be easier to do with him close by. Lily would be fifteen, if they decided that they wanted to Lily figured they were old enough. And she really cared about him, she wasn't sure if she was in love, but she was very much in like.

Lily tugged on Scorpius' hand until he looked at her. He was putting on a brave face, but Lily felt sure that his father's rejection hurt a lot more then he let on. She could see the uncertainty and sadness in his eyes. Eyes that had gazed upon her with such adoration only a half hour ago. She wanted to make that hurt go away. She wanted to let him know that she appreciated what he'd given up, but first she had to know exactly why he'd done it.

"Why?" A vague question but he understood.

"If I hadn't I would have proved to everyone that I am my father. That I'll blindly listen to whatever I'm told without thinking for myself," Scorpius said. As he spoke her parents stopped talking to listen. "If I hadn't my parents would be in charge of the rest of my life. My wife, my friends, my job, my home- they would choose all of it for me. All they'd expect me to do is follow blindly. I'd never be able to follow my dreams. I knew this would happen someday, Lily. I knew."

"That doesn't make it any easier," she whispered.

"No, no it doesn't, but it's necessary," he asserted.

_So strong, so brave,_ Lily thought

"Mr. Malfoy," Headmistress McGonagall said, "you told your Head of House that you intended to become an Auror once you've graduated. Is that still your aspiration?"

"Yes, professor."

"Mr. Potter, is there not a summer tutorial for sixteen and seventeen year olds who dream of one day becoming Aurors?" McGonagall turned to Harry, who was eying Scorpius in a way Lily had never seen before. It was almost like her Father was measuring him.

"Yes, there is," he said finally. Harry nodded but Lily felt he wasn't nodding as an answer to the Headmistress' question. But to something else, like Scorpius had passed his mental measuring.

"Would it be too late for Mr. Malfoy to be part of this program?"

"No, I'll be sure his name is added to the list." Harry turned back to Ginny they whispered for a moment longer before returning to the conversation. "Scorpius, about this tutorial."

"Yes, Mr. Potter," Scorpius said. "I'm interested in being a part of it, if that's what you're wondering. The only reason I didn't sign up before this just stomped out of the room," he ended bitterly.

"This tutorial is a way of weeding out people who don't have it in them to be Aurors before primary training begins after you've graduated. The individuals who make it through all eight weeks are automatically eligible for primary training," her Father explained.

"I won't have to take the test?" Scorpius asked.

"If you make it through the tutorial that is the test."

"That's awesome."

"I think you have it in you to be an incredible Auror, and I'm rarely wrong about this kind of thing. So, along with adding you to the list I'd like to offer my services as your personal tutor."

"It would be an honor, Mr. Potter."

"The only problem is that my primary duties are as a father, a husband and Department Head. It will be difficult to manage tutoring you as well if you're not close by."

"Close by?" Scorpius asked. Lily rolled her eyes. Her boyfriend could be so smart sometimes and so dense other times. She realized what her father's plan was as soon as he mentioned private tutoring lessons. Harry never would have offered that to anyone else. It was mildly unethical, but a very clever way to get Scorpius to do what he needed to.

"The tutorial is Monday through Thursday, 9am to 5pm with an hour lunch. I get home around the same time. We could work in the evenings and on weekends, but the only way I'll be able to manage everything that needs doing is if you can be entirely flexible."

"If I'm close at hand."

"Exactly."

"How close?"

"We have an apartment over our garage," Ginny said. They didn't really but Lily would bet anyone a million gallons there would be an apartment over the garage come summer. "It's fully furnished, stove, fridge, toilet, a bed, everything you'll need. And, of course, we'd never turn you away from our table."

"I'll be paying rent?" Scorpius asked.

"A gallon a month during the summer," Harry said.

"What about bills?"

"We'll take care of that," Ginny said.

"But-"

"I'm not doing you any favors, Scorpius. You're doing me a favor. If you're going to pay for your own food, dishes, silverware, towels, clothes, books, bed sheets, blankets and all those other things necessary for living on your own plus rent without a paying job, then I'm paying your bills until you get a paying job. I need you close by and this is the only way I can think to do it."

Scorpius was quiet for a few minutes. "All right," he agreed.

"Very good," Harry stood up, "I have to get back to work."

"My father pulled you out of work?" Scorpius' eyes were wide and obviously embarrassed.

"Your father has been sending me scathing letters for three months now. Why I thought I could have a peaceful lunch with my wife and the Minister of Magic I'll never know."

Scorpius groaned.

"Don't worry," Lily said soothingly. "Dad sees Kingsley all the time. He'll probably be around the house this summer."

"Brilliant, I'll get to look the Minister of Magic in the face as the son of a known Death Eater who pulled the Head of the Auror Department to complain about his son's girlfriend." At his sarcasm Lily snatched her hand out of his.

"Lily, if you could tell your brothers about the new arrangements?" Ginny asked her suddenly stricken daughter. "And Kira while you're at it."

"Sure, Mum."

The Potters left the Headmistress' office with much more dignity then the Malfoy's had.

"I've sent notes to your professors explaining you absences. And I've informed Mr. Filch that you'll be on your ways to your classes. No detours." The Headmistress dismissed them.

Lily got up and left the office without waiting for Scorpius. She was sure he'd only snapped at her because he was stressed, but that did little to comfort her. Lily had never managed to keep a boyfriend long enough to get into an actual argument with him. Where he hurt her feelings, so she wasn't entirely sure how she should react.

Scorpius was usually so sweet, so doting, anything but a pushover though. If he disagreed with her or didn't want to do something she wanted to do he had no problem telling her. But he'd never lashed out at her, made her feel foolish. And that is just what he'd done in McGonagall's office. She didn't know what to do about how she felt and she knew that if she over thought what had happened. She'd make a stupid decision. Like the one Rose had made.

And then they'd both be miserable.

Lily stopped in her tracks half way to her class. What had Rose done that made her situation with Stephen so… problematic? Lily knew that if she'd just thought for a second before opening her trap Rose never would have gotten it in her head that Stephen would drop her, but Lily couldn't be held accountable for the way Rose had acted after that. Rose should have talked to Stephen so they could work out the problem before it became so huge the only way out was to break up.

Lily whorled around and walked straight into Scorpius, who had been following her evidently. She would not bottle up her hurt. She'd be honest and hope that her honesty was rewarded.

"Lily," he said. "Are you all right?"

"No." He looked instantly worried.

"Wha-"

"You hurt my feelings snapping at me. I know you're under a lot of stress so I'm prepared to forgive you if you apologize," she said.

Scorpius gaped at her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, about your parents. I know this is hard for you, but I only wanted to make you feel better and you made me feel foolish. I accept your apology and we can talk about it more tonight but we should probably get to class."

He nodded and they went their separate ways.


	13. As It Shouldn't Be

A/N: **Starting on some new characters tell me what you think!**

Plus I had a reviewer ask me about the number erection mentioned in this story and I'd just like to explain that healthy post adolescent males experience eleven to twenty erections a day. So… I'm just being medically correct. Anyway they're teenage boys. Teenage boys get erections it's just a fact.

**Chapter Thirteen**

As It Shouldn't Be

Hugo Weasley huffed and looked over at his forlorn sister. She was waiting for a letter from Stephen Wood, her ex-boyfriend. He'd told her he'd write everyday and so far he had. Having stolen a few of the letters she received, Hugo was stunned to find out that all Stephen wrote about was how his day had been, what books he was reading, how Quidditch practice with the professional team that had recruited him was going. It was all so mundane. So normal. Like nothing between the two of them had changed, but everyone knew it had.

They'd broken up. The only reason Wood was still alive was because Rose had broken up with him. But Hugo thought the family should band together and hex the crap out of him anyway. Rose was positively miserable and the only reason Hugo could think of for her misery was Wood. She'd been perfectly fine before they started going out, she'd been happy while they'd been going out, happier then he'd ever seen her. And now that they weren't together anymore it was like she was fading away.

All she did was sit around waiting for his letter, then she'd spend hours reading it over and over again and then she'd spend all night writing back. Hugo'd never managed to get his hands on a letter she wrote to Wood but he had a feeling it took her so long to write back because she was trying not to sound desperately miserable in her letters she was trying to sound just as normal. She read his letters so many times looking for some glimmer of hope that he was feeling something similar to what she was feeling.

Mum had tried to talk to her but she wouldn't open up about the depth of her sadness and she barely spoke to Dad period. Hugo was sure that she blamed him in part for the break up. Hugo was also sure that the whole family was at least partially to blame for Rose's sad state of affairs. Hugo just wished she'd open up about it so that they might help her out. But Rose was stubborn and she wouldn't admit she needed anyone's help, let alone help from her family, until she hit rock bottom.

Unfortunately it seemed rock bottom wasn't that far off.

Hugo just hated to see his sister so unhappy. He had it in his head to write his own letter to Wood. To tell him what his complete casual letters were doing to his sister. He was one more night waking up to her crying in the next room away from doing just that. It was for her own good finding for sure how Wood actually felt. He'd avoided her for two weeks after they broke up and then suddenly he was back to following her all over the place. Except he didn't touch her or kiss her or call her by endearments Hugo knew she liked. And if it was possible she seemed more stricken then she had immediately after they broken up.

It was maddening because Hugo understood exactly why he was doing it. Or at least he assumed he knew. Wood was attempting to keep Rose in his life in someway. Which said that Wood still wanted to be with her. But his casual letters spoke only of a friendship. So Hugo was as confused as Rose, but significantly less miserable.

He still had his happiness in the form of a Muggle girl who lived a few houses down from them. She'd lived there was long as Hugo could remember. They'd played as children and shared their first kisses with each other when they were but twelve years old. They'd been together ever since almost unreasonably faithful to each other considering the fact that they only saw each other a few months a year. But they wrote all the time and she'd given him a nifty little device called a cell phone. It was like a telephone but they could write instantly through something called texting. They could only do it on Hogsmeade weekends but it was better then nothing. It was better then not talking to his Ruby at all.

Hugo had broken down last year, broke the one rule his parents had placed on his friendship with Ruby and told her the truth. He'd shown her his wand, his broom, everything. He'd even barrowed Uncle Harry's Invisibility Cloak from James so he could sneak Ruby into his house and show her his parents performing magic. She'd been so astounding, so impressed and so honored that he trusted her with his secret that she'd finally let him do a bit more then just kiss her. She had graciously explained herself while fixing her hair.

"By trusting me with such a huge secret, with something so important to you, you've proven that you respect me. And if you respect and trust me then I guess I aught to respect and trust you. You're just lucky I do," she's said with laughter in her voice.

She always had laughter in her voice and a smile on her face. Ruby even smiled when she cried. When she was ten, she tripped knocking out one of her front teeth, she cried out right away. Hugo had known he needed to get her parents but he hadn't wanted to leave her there crying, so he told her he still thought she looked pretty. She stopped crying and ever since then whenever she cried she'd smile and ask him if he still thought she looked pretty. He always said, 'yes.'

Hugo protected the happiness he had with Ruby fiercely. No on in his family know they were more then just friends. No one in his family knew when he went out during the summer he wasn't bumming around town, like he told his parents, more often then not he was hidden in some corner of the world with Ruby.

In fact he was supposed to be with her in fifteen minutes but had been so preoccupied by his sister's unhappiness that he'd lingered at home longer then he should have. Thankfully as long as he explained, Ruby would understand.

Hugo sighed and got up. He'd have to ask Ruby if she thought writing to Wood on his sister's behalf was a good idea. She'd give him a much needed feminine perspective and probably a good chewing out for interfering with his sister's relationship. He would admit that he'd been being stupid and for his admittance she'd drag him back to her house for a good long snog that would last until her parents got home at 6.

Hugo walked over to where Rose was staring out the window waiting for Wood's owl. "You need to get out to the house," he said. Rose didn't even look at him.

"Why? Are you expecting someone?" Usually Hugo would have thought she was being a smartass but the hopelessness in her voice suggested otherwise. Her voice told him that if he kicked her out she would sit on the front lawn waiting for Wood's owl.

"No, I'm going out and you should too," Hugo said, gently.

"You mean find someone else? Don't you? Don't you?"

_Great now she's mad,_ Hugo thought.

"No, I want you to socialize, for the love of Merlin!" He figured that as long as she was already pissed there was no point in beating around the bush.

"I'm perfectly happy, Hugo," Rose said.

"No you're not, Rose."

For a long moment she was quiet and Hugo knew that was her way of agreeing with him. "Just go."

Hugo sighed again and left. He wouldn't be able to do the right thing until he'd talked to Ruby. If anyone could tell him how to get Rose out of her funk it was Ruby.

---

Ruby Christopher hated her job but kept it for one reason. And that reason was five minutes late. She couldn't very well expect Hugo to pay for his own cell phone, especially sine he barely knew what it was or how to use it. He knew how to text and call her on the contraption and not to let it get wet, but when it came to all the special features that had made the phone so expensive he was completely lost. Even if he learned how to listen to music on it he'd probably hate all the music available to be bought.

Ruby couldn't say she was all that upset about Hugo not using his cell phone as a music player. The stupid thing cost her enough money as it was. She had to buy several back up batteries because Hugo had no way of recharging the batteries while at school. So Ruby stayed in a job she hated all so she could afford the cell phone that was her only connection to her boyfriend/ best friend during the school year. Every once and while (usually during eight hour shifts at the grocery store from hell) she'd curse the fact that Hugo was a wizard and so often so far out of reach.

She had to fight feelings of abandonment every time he went off to school. But he wrote her everyday and would call and text on seeming random weekends. It helped but it wasn't the same as having him close. She always kicked herself when thoughts like that took hold. They did the best they could under the circumstances and Ruby would rather have Hugo in her life in the limited way she got him then not at all. Truly the only negative Ruby would attribute to her relationship with Hugo was how needy he made her feel.

Most nights she'd lay awake waiting for the tap of his owl's beak on her window. That quiet scratching told her he was as desperate as she was for some contact. She'd been scared to death the first time Hugo's owl came to her window, but her fear was quickly replaced with joy. Over the years she had had to be content with the few months they got together during the summer and the few weeks during the holidays. It had never been quite enough.

She had never really understood why he'd been able to write to her but she'd never been able to write back. And writing letters seemed so archaic. That was when she got the bright idea of getting him a cell phone, but he'd balked at the very idea for years, absolutely refusing. It wasn't until he'd told her the truth that she'd understood why and pocked and prodded him into getting the phone. Of course that had created more problems then it solved. It was easier to communicate with him but her parents, for all their money, refused to pay for her boyfriend's cell phone.

So, Ruby'd gotten the job from hell to pay for the cell phone bill and all the replacement batteries.

Ruby didn't really blame her parents for not wanting to pay for Hugo's cell phone. He had parents that were far better off then they were (probably because they got paid in gold), why didn't the Weasleys pay for their son's cell phone? Ruby knew it was because only Mrs. Weasley knew what a cell phone was but she didn't know that Hugo was dating Ruby and might want a cell phone so that the two teenagers could converse while Hugo was at school. And even if she did know all of that, Ruby doubted she'd approve of the idea.

One thing Ruby had learned about Mrs. Hermione Weasley was that she was a stickler for rules. Ruby often worried what would happen if either Mr. or Mrs. Weasley found out that she knew they had magical powers. She couldn't imagine it would be good. For all her insistence Hugo had never told her what his parents would do if they did find out. Which did not bode well for her if they did.

Ruby leaned back on the bench outside of the grocery store when she saw the characteristic red of Hugo's hair. Her own white blonde locks twisted in the light wind that swept past the building. He looked stressed and Ruby knew that she'd been right to assume something was wrong and that that was why he was late. Hugo was never late unless there was a very good reason.

"I have a problem, love," he sighed, sitting down next to her. Ruby snuggled up to his side, relishing in these stolen moments of intimacy with her boyfriend. They were so few that she took advantage of them whenever she could.

"I figured as much," she said. "You're ten minutes late," she added when he fixed her with a confused glance. He smiled and laughed a little, before sighing again. "What is it?"

"Rose is miserable. All she does is wait for a letter from her ex. Then once she's got it she reads it over and over before taking forever to write him back. And I've woken up every night this week to her sobbing in the next room. I feel ruddy awful about it because I think some of it might be my fault," he said.

"So, let me get this straight," Ruby said. "Your sister spends her day waiting for a letter, then she spends hours mooning over it because it's the only attention or affections she's getting from this guy and then spends a few more hours writing him back. And she's crying at night because that attention and affection isn't enough," Ruby surmised.

"I don't even know if there is any affection." Ruby looked at him curiously until he explained. "I've nicked a few of the letters he's sent her. To see what was upsetting her so much. There all just about his day and his job and other typical stuff. Stuff I'd write to a mate, you know? Nothing meaningful like what I write to you."

"So he's keeping it casual when she wants something more?"

"Right, but she broke up with him. So I don't know what she's so upset about," Hugo admitted.

"I think that's quite obvious," Ruby said.

"Clearly it isn't," Hugo said. She snorted delicately and he grinned.

"She's acting like a girl desperately in love, soaking up any scrap of affection offered to her, but none of it is enough. She takes so long to write him back because she doesn't want him to know how desperately in love she is."

"Well, why not? If he knew how she felt they might get back together and she'd be happy again."

"It's a matter of pride, Hugo. She doesn't want to admit she made a mistake."

"Well, when you say it like that it does seem quite obvious," Hugo muttered.

"So, now tell me, how do you factor into all of this?"

"Yes, well… my Dad paid me and all my male cousins to keep an eye on her and Stephen," Hugo admitted reluctantly.

"Hugo!" Ruby exclaimed. She pulled away from him and fixed him with a stunned gazed.

"I knew you'd be mad," he mumbled.

"Of course I'm mad, Hugo," she snapped. "What if my Father paid all of my male relatives to spy on us and keep us from experiencing any moments of intimacy? Surely that had something to do with why they broke up. He was getting irritated by your interference. She didn't know what else to do so she dropped him before he could drop her."

"Something like that," he muttered, clearly ashamed at the part he played in his sisters unhappiness.

"Well, do tell what _exactly_ happened."

"Apparently, Lily, my cousin, snapped at Rose saying something about how Stephen would drop her and wouldn't bother with her at all after he graduated. She hasn't been quite the same after that."

"Let me correct myself," Ruby huffed. "Your interference in you sister's relationship made her so insecure that one word from another, slightly more experienced, girl broke what was left of her confidence in her relationship. She didn't know what else to do so she broke up with him! And now she's too proud to tell him how she really feels."

"You're exactly right," Hugo agreed hastily.

"Oh, I know."

"But now I need to know what I should do to make it better. I've made my bed, now I have to lay in it, but Rose doesn't deserve the unhappiness she's suffering through right now. I'll stand against my whole damn family if I have to. If it'll make her happy again," he said solemnly, like the thought of facing his whole family on his own was like facing a death squad.

"There's nothing you can do," Ruby said.

"What? But-"

"Rose has to learn that sometimes you have to put aside your pride for the sake of your happiness. And that's a lesson she has to learn on her own. You can try to guide her to that conclusion, but you can't simply tell her and hope that she'll listen. She needs to come to the conclusion on her own."

"And when will that happen?"

"When she hits rock bottom."

"I was afraid of that," Hugo admitted.

They sat in silence for awhile. After a bit Ruby snuggled back up to Hugo's side. He kissed her head and Ruby sighed happily sure he'd acted stupidly, but he made up for it by seeing the error of his ways and trying to make it better. It was clear that he cared about his sister and even though she had been peeved at him, she couldn't help thinking that the real reason he'd kept an eye on her hadn't been because of the money his father had given him but because of brotherly worry.

"I know you're regretting it now," she said. "But why did you agree to spy on her for your father in the first place?"

"Because Dad's heart was in the right place," Hugo said.

"Excuse me?"

"It sounds like he was just being nosey and thick, but really he just wanted to make sure she didn't get hurt or make a mistake with Wood that she'd regret later."

"I assume Wood is the ex-boyfriend?"

"Yup." They lapsed into silence again. "Looks like Dad's plan backfired, though. Rose won't even look at him."

"That's something you could talk to her about," Ruby said.

"Really?"

"She'll dismiss anything you say about her relationship, but a family issue that directly affects you would be something she'd listen to you about. Besides I doubt she wants to be miserable, perhaps mending the relationship she has with her father will bring her one step closer to being happy again."

"Thanks, love. I knew you'd know what to do."

Hugo caught her cheek in his hand and brought her lips to his. The kiss started innocent enough, but soon he was pressing her for more. Ruby pulled away laughing.

"Not outside the bawls of hell, Hugo." Ruby got up and started down the sidewalk towards her house.

"Why do you keep this job if it makes you so miserable?" Ruby snorted at his question.

"Someone has to pay your cell phone bill, Hugo. And for all those replacement batteries," she said. Ruby stopped and turned to him. "Plus the phone cost a pretty penny by itself." She smiled up at him and he frowned down at her. Hugo was several feet taller then her and Ruby had always found that very sexy.

"If the phone has cost you so much money why haven't you told me so I could pay you back? I've got money Ruby, it's no problem," Hugo assured her. "How much has it cost you so far?"

"Probably at least a thousand pounds," she guessed.

"And one gallon is about seven pounds, so I owe you around one hundred forty gallons… right?" Hugo asked.

"Wow," Ruby gaped. "You did that in your head?"

"I've always been good with numbers, just like you've always been good with knowing what's really going on in people's heads."

"Huh." Ruby started towards her house again.

"I'm going to pay you back, you know?" Hugo said, coming up next to her. Ruby smiled at him, she couldn't help it. He always made her smile.

"You do realize that the phone company won't accept gallons as a form of payment, don't you?" Hugo thought a moment.

"I'll have the bank convert my gold into pounds then send the pounds to you. That would work, wouldn't it?"

Ruby stopped on the top step of her front porch and turned to Hugo who stood in front of the bottom step. Standing as they were, they were finally the same height. She smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"You'll send me a letter with how much I owe for that month, I'll contact the bank have the funds sent to me, then send them to you. How's that sound?"

"It sounds entirely unnecessary," Ruby laughed.

"But if I pay for the phone, then you can quit the job from hell and we can spend more time together," Hugo reasoned.

"I have to admit it sounds appealing."

"More then appealing," he said. "If you didn't have to go to work, we could snog all day. From when your parents leave for work 'til they get back."

"Don't you worry we'll get tire of it?" she asked, grinning.

"I'll never get tired of it," he smiled. "So, what do you say?"

"Do you have the money for it? And you don't have to pay me back for past bills and what not."

"But I-" Ruby placed a hand over his mouth.

"It was meant as a gift, just let it be, all right?"

He kissed her fingers. "So long as I can pay the bills from now on," he said.

"Okay," she agreed.

"So, you'll quit your job tomorrow?" She nodded. "Brilliant!" Hugo grabbed her about the waist and tugged her into her house. Ruby laughed the whole way up to her room, where Hugo silenced her with a kiss.


	14. Stupid Gray Area

**A/N: THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED!!! I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS SO PLEASE KEEP IT UP!!!**

**Chapter Fourteen**

Stupid Gray Area

Rose was vaguely aware of what was going on around her. It was dinner time. The plate full of untouched food in front of her, her brother to her left and her parents across from her proved that. Hugo, bless his stupid heart, was trying to get her to talk to Dad, but it would take a lot more then her Father's halfhearted apology to make up for paying her male cousins to interfere in her relationship. Not that it made much of a difference anymore.

She _was_ inclined to forgive her Father after the letter she'd received from Stephen, though.

Lots was about to change because of that letter. Not just her mood and attitude towards her Father, but her whole outlook on her family. If things were going to work out the way they needed to, Rose needed to reevaluate the way she treated her family and the way her family treated her and her personal privacy. There were no secrets in the Weasley/Potter clan. Everyone knew everyone else's business and that made having an intimate relationship very difficult.

For her anyway. The oldest and youngest Potter children seemed to doing a fine job of it. But then again their parents weren't getting overly involved in their personal lives.

Stephen's letter had arrived hours ago and Rose was unable to stop reading it. She'd wanted to respond immediately, but knew that her knee jerk inclination could lead her astray as it had last time she'd had to make a seemingly difficult decision regarding Stephen. The letter read:

_Dear Rose,_

_First and foremost I have to apologize. It's taken me far too long to figure this out and for that I'm truly sorry. I thought I could handle just being your friend but I can't. It's all or nothing for me. I can't stand this stupid gray area. I want to be with you so much I've refused every date I've been asked on. I just feel like I'd be betraying you somehow._

_I know this seems to be coming out of nowhere. We've been playing this casual game for months. At least I hope it's a game for you because it sure as hell has been a game for me. It takes me hours to write to you because the first few drafts of my letters always seem to reveal too much. But now I'm laying it out there. _

_I want to be the man for you. I'll deal with you crazy family for the rest of my life if it mean I get to have you. I'll only ever kiss you in secret if it means I get to kiss you. I'll make you smile everyday if it means I get to make you smile._

_I don't want to pressure you into making some huge decision about your feelings for me, but I thought you should know the truth. I adore you, just know that won't change. The only reason I agreed to break up was because it seemed to be what you wanted and I just want you to be happy._

_Write me back if you want me back or if you don't. Either way I have to know. So that's me putting myself out there._

_Love you Always,_

_Stephen_

_P.S. I mean that. Every. Word._

Rose felt her heart soar. Stephen wanted the same thing she did. He'd been having the same trouble keeping their relationship light that she'd been having. He hadn't even gone out with another girl! They would be back together as soon as Rose wrote him. She knew that she'd have to set aside her pride if she was to be with Stephen again. She'd have to admit that she'd made a mistake and that it had cost them both dearly. If Stephen was willing to forgive her she was willing to make it work, even though it would be tough with her still in school.

The happiness of being with Stephen was worth it.

It was worth all the trouble in the world. You simply can't put a price on happiness.

The problem was that as soon as her Father got wind that she and Stephen were back together he'd sic her cousins on them again. The few times she'd be able to spend anytime with Stephen they'd be surrounded by family and unable to do anything to express their feelings. And Rose was more then willing to express all of her feelings for Stephen. Her time apart from him had shown her how truly special what they had (and would have again) was. She didn't want to waste a moment of the time she had with him being uncertain.

Hugo gave a dramatic sigh and Rose finally managed to draw her attention away from her letter. He'd been annoyingly persistent that she resolve her issues with her father lately. It was most unlike him to be so involved in her problems. But she supposed that her anger with their father put quite a strain on their family and Hugo was no doubt feeling it. Rose figured that she'd have to actually forgive her father. She'd done a lot of reflecting lately and had come to several realizations.

The most prominent realization being that problems with one relationship (let's say, the relationship between Rose and her father) often caused problems in other relationships (like the relationship Rose had with Stephen). If she was going to have a long and happy relationship with Stephen she'd have to find it in her to really and truly forgive her father. But to do that she'd have to understand a few things. Things that eluded her since her father had set her cousins on her and Stephen.

But she couldn't ask him. She was still too pissed. She'd have to ask someone she knew wouldn't sugar coat the truth. Rose turned to her left, towards Hugo, who had vanished.

"Where's Hugo?" she asked her parents hoping they hadn't vanished as well.

"He said he was going to watch telly over at Ruby Christopher's house," her father answered. He sounded pleased, probably because this was the first time she'd even marginally spoken to him.

"Do you mind if I head over there too?" Rose made a point of asking both her parents. Part of fixing her relationship with her father involved recognizing his presence. Something she'd childishly ignored for weeks.

"Not at all, sweetheart," her Dad said.

Rose gave him a little smile before heading for the door.

As she made her way down the sidewalk to Ruby's house only a few houses down, she thought about what she'd write to Stephen. She desperately wanted to see him but couldn't think of a way she could without her father finding out. She knew Stephen's schedule backwards and forwards from his letters and knew that if she lied to her parents about where she was, she could go to his flat outside of London, but she preferred not to lie. Lying to her parents left a bad taste in her mouth. She was trying to mend her relationship with her parents and lying to them seemed counterproductive.

Certainly a lie of omission wouldn't be remiss, though. Rose stopped in front of Ruby's house. The blinds were open and she could clearly see Ruby and Hugo sitting on the couch watching the telly. She thought about her idea of simply not telling anyone about her and Stephen. Her parents worked all day during the week, Hugo wouldn't pester her about where she was going, he'd been the one to tell her to get out of the house, hadn't he? This lie of omission idea was sounding better and better. If she and Stephen figured out a place to meet on the weekends, she could tell her parents she was going to see a friend (not entirely falsehood, Stephen would be her boy_friend_) and really sneak off with Stephen.

Rose did a little happy dance. If she kept her relationship a secret until she graduated, she and Stephen could be together without her family's interference. The future suddenly seemed worlds brighter. Rose looked to her brother and Ruby again and gasped. It seemed she wasn't the only Weasley to get the lie of omission idea. Rose snorted as the feisty blue eyed blonde haired Ruby climbed onto Hugo's lap and began snogging him with gusto.

Rose shook her head. She could ask her brother about their father later. They both had better things to do. Hugo had to snog the Muggle girl who lived down the street and Rose had a letter to write.

---

Clenched in Stephen's hand was the missive he'd received from Rose. The content of the letter was as simple as it was heart lifting. It had been trying acting like he was only interested in being her friend when he wanted to be so much more. It had taken him days to write the letter that revealed so much of what he was actually feeling. It had taken far longer then it really should have because he had to continue writing casual letters to her. He'd initially thought to hold off on writing her more letters until he'd sent the one that actually meant something but she'd comment in one of her letters about how much she enjoyed their correspondence, limited though it was. Stephen just couldn't stop doing something she enjoyed.

She needed to be happy and he needed to be the one making her happy.

Apparently Rose felt the same of so her letter told. It read:

_Dear Stephen,_

_I want to kiss you._

_I want you to make me smile._

_I want to be with you._

_Meet me outside Diagon Alley tomorrow at 10 am._

_Love,_

_Rose_

_P.S. I meant that. Every. Word._

So here he was. Sitting outside Diagon Alley waiting for his lovely Rose. He'd been waiting for a little over thirty minutes. She wasn't late, he'd been early. He had been so excited about seeing her that he'd arrived early in the hopes that she would be to. But as the hour reached 10 it was becoming more apparent to Stephen that she'd be arriving promptly at the hour and no sooner. He shook his head. He wasn't all that upset. It was better to wait where he was then to wait around his flat. He'd have been bouncing off the walls if he'd have waited there. No it was better that he was out.

Stephen looked at his watch again. Two minutes. In two minutes he'd be kissing his Rose again. He'd be holding her. Telling her all those things he'd avoided in his letters. In two minutes the horrible pressure that had been on his chest ever since Rose broke up with him would ease. Stephen looked up as someone approached. He quickly looked away. Whoever it was, was wearing an oversized black cloak with the hood obscuring their face. He didn't care what the shady fellow was up to so long as he didn't interfere with his glorious reunion with Rose. They'd kiss as Stephen spun them around in the sun. It would be per-

"Stephen,"

Stephen looked towards the bloke in the cloak who had called out to him, sounding remarkably like his Rose.

"Stephen." The hood twitched to the side revealing a lock of Weasley red hair.

"Rose?" Stephen got up from the bench he'd been fidgeting on for the past thirty or so minutes. "What are yo-"

"Shh!" she glanced back the direction she'd come as if to see if she'd been followed. But by who Stephen hadn't a clue. "You can Apparate, right?" she asked.

"Well, sure, but-" he began, reaching out for her.

Rose rushed into his arms. "Get us to your flat, and hurry!"

"But, Rose-"

"Hurry!"

Stephen pulled his wand from his robes and with a POP! they vanished from outside Diagon Alley. Once they'd landed in Stephen's flat, Rose breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the cloak off. Stephen took in her silky pink skirt and white tank top. He was so used to seeing her in her school uniform, seeing her in something that flattered her figure so nicely was new and utterly delightful. He wanted to kiss her, badly.

"Rose." She turned away from the tiny mirror over the fire place which she'd been fixing her hair in to Stephen. She must have recognized the look in his eyes because she immediately walked back into the circle of his arms and kissed him. Stephen wrapped his arm around her waist and relished in the feeling of her small body pressed again his large body. They fit together perfectly. Him and his Rose.

Stephen threaded his fingers through her hair, tilting her head slightly to the side so he could more thoroughly plunder her mouth. Rose grabbed the front of his robes and pulled him to the couch, which they both tumbled onto. Stephen on top of Rose. She hiked her leg up over his hip forcing Stephen to settle more firmly on top of her.

Stephen finally found the will to pull away from Rose. But it was hard and looking down at her mused hair and kiss swollen lips wasn't helping. "Rose, I thought…" Her leg slid down from his waist, rubbing against his butt and legs. He growled deep in his throat.

She moaned in response and Stephen lost it. He covered her mouth with his again, slipping his tongue past her lips to the silky depths beyond. She moaned again fisting her hands in his hair. Rose wiggled ever so slightly beneath him and Stephen felt himself become very interested in the direction of this snog.

He pulled away again. He couldn't let her know just how excited her moaning and wiggling was getting him. His mother had raised him to be a gentleman and a gentleman didn't let his new girlfriend know how aroused she was making him. They needed to talk and there was no way that was going to happen with her wiggling and moaning beneath him. He had to know why she'd demanded they move their date to his flat, why she'd been wearing that cloak and why she'd seemed to believe she was being followed. These were all vastly important questions. Questions that were more important then snogging.

Snogging could wait for the time being.

At least until he'd gotten himself under control enough that he didn't attack her. She was too desirous for his peace of mind.

"Rose, we have to talk," Stephen got up and moved across the room just to be safe.

"But I don't want to talk," she said, breathlessly. "I want to kiss you."

"I want to kiss you too-" Stephen began.

"Then come back here." She opened her arms and Stephen had to fight his hormones that were telling him it would a fabulous idea to fall back into her arms.

"But we have to talk, Rose," he insisted. "Why were you dressed in that cloak-"

"I didn't want my parents or any of my relatives or any of the friends of my parents or relatives to see me coming to meet you," she said, sitting up and fiddling with her hair again.

"Why?" Stephen asked unsure of whether or not he should be offended.

"If my father doesn't know we're back together he can't sic my cousins on us," she reasoned, a giant grin on her pretty face.

"But Rose I told you in my letter that I'd deal with you crazy family," he asserted. "There's no reason to keep it a secret!"

"I wish you were right about that, but I don't want my family watching every move we make. Just think, would we have been able to have that fabulous snog if my father knew I was here?" Stephen sighed and shook his head. No, they wouldn't even be at his flat if Rose's father knew they were together. "And you… enjoyed our snog, didn't you?" Rose asked, seductively.

"Rose," he warned.

"What?" her bright eyes wide and innocent. "I was just asking if you… liked our snog. It's a perfectly innocent question." Rose pouted her lips and crossed her arms under her breasts. The entire image was meant to drive Stephen crazy and it was damn close to doing just that. Apparently he hadn't done as good a job as he'd hoped hiding his excitement.

"You know exactly 'what,' Rose," Stephen said through clenched teeth. His control was hanging by a thread, a tiny, thin, barely visible thread and the feisty red head sitting on his couch was holding a very sharp pair of scissors in her soft hands. "Rose, if we are going to have a mature relationship we have to act like two mature individuals. And mature people don't hide their relationships from their parents."

"Our situation is different, Stephen. To have a mature relationship we have to hide it," she reasoned.

Unfortunately for Stephen's side of the argument he was beginning to see that her reasoning was sound. If they were going to have a mature relationship they needed certain freedoms that just weren't afforded to them with her family watching their every move. He needed to be able to kiss and touch her without some red headed maniac threatening to murder him if he did it again. If he had any hopes of building up a resistance to her allure so he could kiss and touch her without losing his cool, then he needed to be able to kiss and touch her innocently without threats of castration.

Damn it, she was right. Under the circumstances there was no way that her family could know about their relationship until she was legally an adult and no longer living under her parents' roof. Until then their only hope of being together was to keep it a secret. From everyone. Which would be hard.

"What happens when you graduate and your parents find out that you've been lying to them about our relationship?" Stephen asked. He didn't want to cause too much tension between Rose and her parents. He knew from her letters that her relationship with her father was on rocky ground at best.

"We'll manage that hurtle when we reach it," she said a smile stretching across her face now that she knew he agreed with her idea. "Maybe they'll learn not to interfere in the lives of their children."

"That's wishful thinking," Stephen smiled. "Wasn't it your grandmother who interrupted a wedding to ask Kira Fitzsimmons if James Potter was a good snog?"

"You're probably right, but right now I'd rather have you right here." Rose stroked the couch cushion right next to her. His self control shot, Stephen was powerless to disobey.


	15. The Look of a Man In Love

A/N: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!

**Chapter Fifteen**

The Look of a Man (in Love)

Albus was shirtless. He was also staring in a mirror that was blessedly lacking any enchantments. He wanted to know exactly what he looked like. He didn't want any of his faults airbrushed. If he was to find out what exactly Daisy found so objectionable about his person he needed an honest look at what his body was. An enchanted mirror might change his image to something more favorable. And he wanted the truth. An enchanted mirror also might compliment him so fiercely that he would believe anything it said even though he could see the truth plainly reflected back at him.

He needed to look at himself with a critical eye if he was to figure out what the problem was.

But at the moment his biggest problem was that he couldn't find a fault with his physical person that Daisy would find so atrocious that she'd be so damn prudish. He had no second head or third nipple. His abs weren't overly defined but they weren't fatty. For a sixteen year old he looked good. And that was said without an ounce of arrogance. He had been critical of his every feature. He hadn't over looked anything either. Not his hair, his eyes, his nose or his lips. He'd even started at his cheekbones for a good ten minutes. But there was nothing, nothing about him physically that would explain Daisy's response to him.

He'd visited her house several times over the summer. Her parents had been thrilled to receive him and more then willing to shoo the two of them up to her room where they were left quite alone for a remarkable amount of time. And when they finally did come to check on the young couple they always seemed upset not to find them kissing or snogging or even embracing.

Daisy got quite skittish whenever she and Albus were alone together. Like he would attack her as soon as the door closed. Which hadn't made a wit of sense to Albus the first time it happened. The last time they were alone together she'd attacked him with kisses. He couldn't think of a single logical reason why she'd all of the sudden act like she wasn't interested in him at all.

Unless there was something about him she didn't like anymore. Or she simply didn't like him anymore. Albus shook his head. It couldn't be that, it just couldn't. He still liked Daisy. He didn't want their relationship to end before it had properly begun. They had barely kissed since their snog in his bedroom. She was back to giving him chaste kisses on the cheek. Most of the time spent in her room passed with them both reading in silence. He tried to strike up a conversation every once and a while, but she'd always go back to her book before giving him an answer.

All the signs pointed to a problem. A problem with him. He still found her utterly fascinating but she seemed to find him lackluster at best. It was quite depressing to admit even to himself. Unfortunately if he was going to scavenge what was left of his relationship he'd need help which meant admitting the problem to someone else.

Albus thought about his options. He could talk to his Dad. Dad always had good advice, but at the end of the day Harry Potter was Albus' father and would avoid brutal honesty. And that was the exact kind of honesty Albus needed. Scorpius was smart and would be honest, but his honesty would be dampened with kindness. It was a damn shame that the only person in the whole house that would be brutal was James. Albus' dear older brother wouldn't hold back for the sake of his feelings and that was exactly what he needed.

Honesty so brutal it was almost cruel.

Albus sighed and pulled his shirt on. When he found James he would no doubt be wrapped around Kira. It was an image that he didn't relish seeing again. The image of James half naked over an equally… disheveled Kira was something that had been burnt into his retina more times then he could count. It wasn't that Albus actively sought them out, they were just snogging all over the damn place.

Albus tromped out of his room. He didn't bother stopping to see if Kira and James were to be found in James' room. It was much too obvious for the two of them. They were trying not to get caught and messing around in a bedroom was too clearly where two sane teenagers would think of doing such a thing. Most the time Albus had found them in the loo or the pantry or a coat closet. He'd also stumbled across them rolling around on the lawn. Most every time he'd sigh and move on. If either of them had any sense they'd vacate the area shortly after Albus left. But if the screaming matches between Mum and Dad and James were anything to go by it seemed that the pair didn't have any common sense. Or at least not enough common sense to keep their clothes on while Mum and Dad were home.

Albus pulled open the door to the upstairs linen closet and Kira screamed.

"Bloody hell, Al!" James yelled. Albus hadn't even looked into the roomy closet but if the rustling of clothing and muttered cursing was any indicator the young Potter imagined that they both had been in varying stages of undress.

When he finally did look at them Albus sighed wistfully. Kira's shirt was inside out and backwards, her skirt flipped up in the back and her hair was a mess. James wasn't faring much better. His shirt was only half on, his trousers were only half closed up. It was clear what they had been doing or what they'd been about to do. Albus was offended for Kira. To think doing _that_ in a linen closet.

"Damn it, James," Albus snapped, quietly. He didn't want to be overheard. "How could you possibly think that a linen closet is the proper place to shag your girlfriend?"

"If you must know we weren't shagging," Kira said.

"But we were damn close," James leered. Albus gagged.

"Shut up, James!" She punched him soundly in the shoulder. He caught her wrist and pulled her against his chest. Within moments they were snogging again. Albus cleared his throat several times and threw a few towels at them until they separated, both gasping for air.

"You two are utterly incorrigible," Albus said, his voice gruff with jealousy. He wanted to be like that with Daisy.

"Oh, like you haven't seen snogging before," James scoffed. "I'm sure Miss Daisy Doe isn't such a prude behind closed doors."

Albus sighed. "Unfortunately that's not entirely true."

"What are you talking about?" James laughed. "I saw you with Daisy."

"Yeah, you saw the first and last time we ever kissed."

Albus' proclamation was met with silence. The older couple staring at him shocked, stunned and horrified. He knew how they felt. Saying the truth of his situation out loud was just depressing. He'd been supposedly dating Daisy for almost a year and hadn't kissed her since last summer. It was almost more then he could bear. So with an air of utter desperation Albus did something he hadn't done in years and asked his older brother for help.

"I need to know what I'm doing wrong and I need you to help me figure out how to fix it," Albus said.

"Was that some vague guy way of asking for help?" Kira wondered out loud.

"Sure was," James said recovering from his shock.

"You'd know, it's the only way you ever ask for help," Albus grumbled.

James snorted. "You can't get all uppity about how I ask for help when you're doing the exact same thing."

"Will you just help me!?"

"Of course I will, if only for the ego trip."

"Ego trip?" Kira asked.

"Oh yeah, baby-"

"Don't call me baby."

"Albus is always so damn smart, always passing all his classes with flying colors, it's damn annoying. The fact that _he_ asked _me_ for help tells me that I know something he doesn't know. That in some small way _I_ am better then _him_," James said, fisting his hands on his hips.

Kira and Albus both fixed him with identical confused and slightly disgusted looks.

"That's incredibly immature and kind of stupid," she commented.

"Whatever," Albus sighed. "I honestly don't care why you've agreed to help me only that you will. So why don't you straighten your clothes, we'll talk in my room."

Albus turned to go, but James stopped him, saying, "Oh, I don't think so, Al. It's a very rare day that you admit my sometimes not so obvious superiority."

"So?"

"So, my ego requires that as many people as physically possible know that you felt the need to seek me out for my infinite knowledge," James placed a hand on his chest and attempted look pensive. Albus let out a wounded sigh. It just figured that James wouldn't make this easy for him.

"Which means?" Kira asked, pulling at her shirt and skirt.

"Which means that we'll be going to find Lily and Scorpius."

"Both of whom possess some common self respect and wouldn't stoop so low as to basically shag in a linen closet," Albus snapped.

"For the last time, Albus. We. Were. Not. Shagging!" Kira yelled.

"But we were close."

"James!"

---

James could be far more observant then most people gave him credit for. For instance, he was well aware of how humiliated his brother was. He also knew there was plenty he could do to alleviate some that humiliation. The only way to comfort Albus would be to talk to him alone, far away from his luscious Kira. And the last place James wanted to be was far away from Kira.

Kira had her pillow soft breast smashed into his side and James as far too selfish to give up the opportunity to grope her. For as miserable as Albus was, James was as happy and content. It just figured that the perfect girl for him had been right under his nose for years before he wised up and realized how dense he'd been.

It wasn't until a few nights ago that James truly saw just how lucky he was to have Kira in his life. She'd slipped into his room in the dead of night and had woken him with feather light kisses and caresses. They'd spent the rest of the night tentatively exploring each other's bodies. They hadn't shagged, but as each night passed they got closer and closer. James knew that they in the final stretch. Any day now and they would take that final step. If he wasn't so sure that Kira was it for him, he'd have backed off a while ago. James Potter was no prude, but he did respect boundaries and the lovely bodies of every girlfriend he'd ever had. He never pushed too hard and if he was ever told to back off he always did.

But he would marry Kira one day and the feel of her heavy breasts in his palms was not something he was likely to give up without a fight. Unless she asked him to stop, of course. In which case he was likely to pitch a fit, but in the end he would concede with whatever dignity he had left. He lo- really, really, really liked her after all. (Even though James knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if he had anything to say about it, he and Kira would one day be man and wife, the stupid blitter was too much of a chicken to admit, even in his own head that he loved her.) He would do anything for her. Well, anything he was physically able to.

Kira slipped her hand into the back pocket of his trousers and gave his arse a squeeze. It was her silent way of asking him to make the coming conversation a quick one. James wasn't sure he'd be able to do that. Albus seemed to be in quite a tough spot with his prudish Daisy Doe. He wouldn't have come to James for help if he wasn't, and he certainly wouldn't have been willing to air his dirty laundry in front of Scorpius, Lily and Kira if the situation wasn't serious. As much as James wished it otherwise (for his own sake as much as his brother's) it looked like the conversation to come would be long and uncomfortable for all involved.

Albus had the decency to knock before opening the door on Scorpius and Lily, when James would have just whipped out his wand and barged in. But Albus had always been a bit more polite then James. He was a good, decent, smart guy who didn't deserve girl troubles.

There was quite a bit of cursing and scrambling going on behind the door that told James Scorpius and Lily had been snogging. He shook his head at that. After the disaster the family's interference had wrought on Rose and Wood's relationship he wasn't about to stick his nose where it didn't belong again. For some reason Mum and Dad trusted them, where they didn't trust James and Kira. He supposed it had to do with the fact that Lily and Scorpius had never gotten caught in a compromising position. Or several compromising positions, as it were.

When Scorpius finally opened the door the only thing that gave away what he'd been doing was the messy state of his hair, which he was in the process of fixing. Lily was sitting primly on the couch looking the picture of perfection. James grumbled as he noted that his shirt was on backwards.

Scorpius shooed everyone in. They passed though the tiny kitchen (Scorpius barely used it, he ate just about all his meals at the main house) into the sitting room. The room had two windows in the ceiling and several on either wall. The back wall had a large arch way that led into Scorpius' bedroom and loo. The place seemed rather sizable for one bloke and judging from the lived in look of the sitting room, Scorpius was enjoying his new home.

Scorpius settled a respectable distance from Lily on the couch and waved at the love seat and overstuffed chair for the others to sit as well. James yanked Kira to the love seat and sat so close to her she might as well have been sitting on his lap. Albus remained standing and sighing heavily.

"What is wrong with me?" he asked in all seriousness.

Scorpius was the first the break the awkward silence that followed Al's question. "What do you mean, mate?" he asked.

"Daisy won't look me in the eye. She barely talks to me. She hasn't kissed me since last summer and dodges me every time I try to kiss her. So… what's wrong with me?" he asked again.

A strange pressure sat on James' chest. This was far worse than he had imagined. Albus was blaming himself for something that was clearly Daisy's problem. James supposed the pressure was to do with compassion. He felt bad because Albus, his only little brother, was going to have to deal with some heart break in the very near future. Or the pressure was indigestion. Both were likely.

"Have you been trying to get her to talk to you and look at you?" James asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"Of course, I have. I've been trying everything. But nothing is working! So, what. Is. Wrong. With. Me?"

James looked anywhere but at his brother. He ended up staring into Kira's eyes. As he studied her shining orbs he realized that she'd come to the same conclusion he had. Nothing was wrong with Albus other than his inability to see what was obvious. Daisy didn't want to be with Albus anymore but didn't have the common decency to tell him. For some reason she was drawing out the misery. But only for Albus, it seemed like she had already checked out of the relationship.

James sighed. He'd have to tell Albus the brutal truth and he knew his little brother wouldn't like it. "Al, I'm gonna be brutally honest with you," he said.

"Good," Albus said, much to his older brother's surprise. "That's why I came to you. You'll be entirely honest with me. So much so that it's almost cruel."

"I don't know about that," Kira said, affronted on James' behalf.

"Oh, no he's right, baby," James patted Kira's knee to soother her. She captured his hand and held it against her knee. "Albus, you know I'd never sugar coat the truth for the sake of your feelings, right?"

"Oh, definitely," Albus nodded.

"So you know I'm being entirely honest when I tell you what's wrong, right?"

"You know what's wrong?" James nodded. "Brilliant! Lay it on me. I can take it, I promise."

James swallowed and looked to Kira for strength. She gave him a slight nod. "There's nothing wrong with you, Al."

"What?" Albus asked, confused and angry.

"He's right," Scorpius added. Both Lily and Kira nodded their agreement.

"No, no. Something has to be wrong with me. Tell me what it is, James! Be a good brother for once and tell me what's wrong with me!"

"There's nothing wrong with _you_, Al," James said.

"What do you mean? Why did you stress 'you,' like there's something wrong with someone else?"

"Because the problem in your relationship isn't you," James sighed. This next part was the bit that Albus wouldn't like. "From what you've said it sounds like Daisy's not interested in being with you anymore and just hasn't told you yet."

"I was afraid of that," Albus muttered.

James immediately regretted his decision to tell his brother the truth. Sure Albus needed to hear it, but the look of utter misery on his face made James think that sometimes the price of the truth is just a little too high. Albus had the look of a man in love. A man in love with the wrong girl, looking in the wrong place for a problem he couldn't fix. It was sad and James was sad for his brother. It was funny, James had never been sad on someone else's behalf before.

"Is there anything I can do? I still want to be with her," Albus said.

He sounded desperate. James shook his head. The best thing Albus could do was break up with Daisy before she broke up with him, but that wasn't what Albus wanted to hear, or even what he needed to hear. He wouldn't listen to such advice, no in the moment. He was too raw from hearing the truth. He'd need some time before he could accept the fact that his relationship with Daisy was over.

"Maybe it's something else," Lily suggested.

The look on her face told James that she didn't mean that. She just wanted Albus to stop looking so sad. James didn't doubt that she was feeling the same pressure on her chest that he was. The look on Albus' face was heart breaking and Lily just wanted to make him feel better. But false hopes might keep Albus from bowing out of the relationship while he still had some dignity. His relationship was doomed. Anyone could see that, even Albus.

"And maybe my head is full of Christmas pudding!" James snapped at Lily. She scowled at him and Scorpius grimaced. "If Daisy wanted to be with him she'd be talking to him."

"Maybe she's shy-" Lily suggested.

"After almost a year?!"

"She an introvert!"

"If she was an introvert that wouldn't stop her from looking at him, would it, Lily? I think not!" James insisted.

"I just wanted to help make him feel better," she pouted.

"By lying to him? You know as well as I do that Daisy's checked out of the relationship. Telling him it might be something else will just draw out the misery." Lily huffed and turned away.

"I wouldn't be surprised if your head _is_ full of Christmas pudding," she muttered.

James shook his head and turned back to Albus who had vanished. "He left? You just let him leave?" James asked Kira and Scorpius.

"He needed to think, you know that as well as I," Scorpius said, grumpily. Lily was pissed and that didn't bode well for her boyfriend who would no doubt have the job of comforting her. Probably by calling James all sorts of unsavory names.

"Plus, I doubt he needed to hear the two of your arguing over how to treat him in his delicate emotional state," Kira said dryly. James harrumphed. "Though, I do wonder why Daisy hasn't dropped him yet. It's clear as day that she doesn't want a thing to do with him, but instead of cutting the cord, as it were, she keeps pulling him along."

"Maybe she's too nervous to break it off with him," Lily suggested, speaking only to Kira and Scorpius. James would have a few hours of blessed silent treatment from his sister. "Maybe she wants to force him to do it."

"That's completely dense," James said.

"Oh thank you, you great lummox!" Lily snapped. "It's entirely likely that she's too nervous to drop him! She's a bloody prude and a nervous wreck most of the time. Anyone with eyes knows that."

"I didn't mean that your idea was dense," James said, defensively. "I mean that if Daisy thinks that a bloke who is obviously head over heals for her would break up with her just because she's putting him off she's a total idiot. Albus will do anything to fix this relationship. He thinks he's in love with her."

"How do you know he's in love with her?" Scorpius asked, looking slightly panicked.

"Oh, he's not in love with her. He _thinks_ he's in love with her. Very different. And trust me. I know the look of a man truly in love." _I see one every bloody time I look in a mirror,_ James thought.

"How?" Kira asked. James looked into Kira's curious eyes and gulped.

"Just trust me, baby. I know."


	16. The Truth Broken

**A/N: THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED!!! PLEASE CONTINUE REVIEWING!!!**

**Chapter Sixteen**

The Truth Broken (in the girls' loo)

Kira wondered down the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. She was basically alone which was strange. James was usually plastered to her side groping whatever part of her body her would let him. But lately he'd been spending more and more time with his brother. Trying as he might to prove that he was a good big brother. While Kira was proud of James, very proud in fact, she still missed him. They'd spent so much time together over the summer exploring their boundaries, having to share him with their classmates, professors and house was hard. Sure she would sneak into his dorm room every night, just so she could sleep for a few hours. Kira had gotten so used to sleeping cuddled up to James' warm body she couldn't sleep without him anymore.

Kira leaned against the stone wall and stared blindly out a window. She was beginning to rely on James more then she had relied on anyone except her parents, both of whom she barely saw. Her parents' support was emotional if distant. That was the best she could hope for considering the fact that they had six other younger children. Kira imagined it was a relief to her parents that she spent most of her holidays with the Potters. Both her Mum and her Dad wrote her everyday. She didn't feel abandoned though it was lonely sometimes. Especially during the holidays when the Potter parents made it so obvious how well and how much they loved their children. Christmas was chaos in the Fitzsimmons' house.

Though the Fitzsimmons' house was never lacking in the love department it was severely lacking in the time and attention departments. Sometimes she wondered how much of a burden writing to her was for he parents. Not that she'd ever ask them to stop. Sometimes it seemed like these letters were her only connection to her family. Her sister, Anna, would be starting school next year, then all her other siblings after Anna. Kira wouldn't see any of them on a regular basis. Not that she saw them regularly now.

It was as if she had already made a new family with the Potters and if the stuff James had been talking about lately was any indicator they would probably end up living together as soon as they graduated. Thoughts of the life she would live with James after they graduated made Kira nervous. She loved James, she'd always adored him. Living with him, marrying him, having children with him- these were things she wanted. But it had always been a far off dream. A "someday plan." But James was talking and planning and freaking the crap out of her. It was one of the reasons she'd slowed down there physical relationship hoping it would slow down his planning. It hadn't. Oh no. It had only sped him up if anything.

Almost as if he was afraid what her hesitance might mean for their future. It seemed so stupid to Kira. They were both afraid, but not talking. That would have to change. If she and James were going to- gulp- get married, have children and grow old together. They both needed to be brave enough to talk about anything and everything. Even those things that scared them. They were Gryffindors, and Gryffindors don't back down from tough situations.

Kira turned towards the loo. She'd have to throw up before she talked to James about kids. She slipped into a stall and sat on the floor, her head between her knees. This conversation would be hard to manage and damn it Kira needed to manage it. She couldn't begin the conversation saying something like, "James, I'm afraid of having kids with you." He would most certainly take it the wrong way, the conversation would turn into an argument that would end in snogging or more. Their conversation needed to end with talking. And maybe a chaste kiss. But nothing more. Kira wasn't going to start a sexual relationship before she graduated.

She hadn't been sure what her intentions were when she snuck into James' bedroom over the summer. All she'd known was that she was tired of tossing and turning half the night feeling achy and unsatisfied ever again. And ever since Kira had snuck into his room not a single night past that Kira didn't collapse and pass out from pleasure. Her last thought before slipping into sleep was usually something along the lines of, "Thank Merlin for James and his wonderfully calloused fingers."

She usually woke with James' lip scorching every easily reached inch of her throat or chest and one or both of his hands gripping one or both of her breasts. Breasts that always felt deliciously heavy and almost swollen in his hands. Over the summer they would often just pick up where they left off the night before, but that was, unfortunately, impossible while they were at school. First off his dorm mate had a terrible tendency to rip the curtains open on them, plus there was class and some such none sense.

Kira would gladly and willingly skip every one of her classes if it meant she could spend more time in James' arms. So, you might be wondering why Kira was so averse to starting a sexual relationship James when she so obviously enjoyed their physical relationship. There were several reasons but the most prominent for Kira was that she felt sex was special and should remain special for as long as possible.

James would always be tender with her, she knew. He would never try something kinky without talking to her first, James wasn't the problem. Not really. It was the act or really the way so many young people viewed the act of having sex. As though it were something common place. Something you only needed to be alone to do. Kira never wanted sex to be common place for her and James. She wanted it to always be special. Not something they would do in a broom closet because it felt good and they were both bored.

And somehow sneaking out of lunch and doing it really quietly in his dorm while praying none of his dorm mates appeared, didn't seem all that special. In fact it would put the act to shame and the two of them to shame all at once. Plus Kira didn't want to have to plan the first time she had sex with the man she loved. She just wanted it to happen. A spontaneous act of love. Was that too much to ask?

The door to the loo banged open and Kira jumped forced from her thoughts. Two girls entered, they were giggling and gossiping. Kira was quick to ignore them. She'd never been fond of girls who acted so damned stereotypical. Where had all the originality gone? Kira was about to return to her former train of thought when she realized the girls were talking about James and Albus. Her James and his miserable little brother. And then she recognized one of the voices speaking. The Damnable Daisy Doe. Kira's ears perked up as she absorbed everything being said by the two girls. She even peeked out of the stall to make sure it was Daisy she was listening in on.

"…you know that. And you know why I'm not with James," Daisy said. Kira only caught the end of her sentence which didn't make much sense. "He's dating that Fitzsimmons girl," Kira didn't like how she was being referred to. It almost sounded like Daisy was insulting her. "Nothing will get between them. Nothing."

_Well, at least that bit is true,_ Kira thought, smugly.

"Yeah, I know," the other girl said. Kira didn't recognize her voice, but decided from its rather whiney quality that she didn't like this girl much more then she liked Daisy. "But, it's like, you're with the spare. Not the real thing, you know?"

_No, I don't know, you stupid bitch!_ Kira thought. _Spell it out for me!_

"Yeah I know," Daisy said with a sigh. "But Albus isn't too demanding on my time, which means I have plenty of time for Martin."

Kira's mouth was hanging open, her mind blank from shock. Daisy freaking Doe was cheating on Albus with some tosser named Martin! This would break Albus. It would destroy him. Why, oh, why hadn't Daisy broken up with him? Why was she leading him on if she had this other bloke on the side?

"I wish I could spend all my time with him," Daisy said wistfully.

"Then drop the spare Potter and date him properly!" the other girl (who Kira suddenly had a bit of respect for) said.

"You know I can't," Daisy sighed. "My parents would flip. All they've said to me since I told them in one of my letters that I thought Albus might fancy me was, 'marry the Potter, Daisy. We don't care about your grades or your job or your future so long as you marry the Potter, Daisy. We don't care about your happiness, Daisy. All we care about is being able to say we're the in-laws to a Potter, Daisy.' It's miserable!"

Kira had a tiny bit of sympathy for Daisy but any and all fuzzy feelings were dwarfed by fury. Albus had been beating himself up over this stupid girl and she was only using him for the sake of her parents. It was utterly ridiculous! Beyond ridiculous, in fact. It was… It was… It was a word Kira couldn't think of. No matter how pressured she felt by her parents what Daisy was doing was wrong and Kira wasn't about to let her continue to get away with it.

Daisy and her friend's voices faded away and Kira got up and went in search of the first Potter or Weasley she could find. This was a family matter and the Potter/Weasley clan took care of their own.

---

Smashed between his sister and his cousin, Hugo Weasley once again wished that Ruby was a witch and could be easily contacted. She would have known exactly what to do in this horrible situation. She would have known what to say when Kira broke the awful news about Daisy and Albus. She would have known how to tell Albus what Kira had overheard. She would have told Hugo that everything would work and damn it he would have believed her. With Ruby by his side Hugo felt like a whole person, with all his limbs intact, able and ready to take on any challenge that faced him. Without her, he felt naked and kind of like he was missing an arm.

Lily was crying, silent tears down her face for the heartbreak, the horrible heartbreak her brother was about to endure. She had her arms wrapped around her middle like she was trying to hold herself together and doing a horrible job at it. Hugo would bet anyone any amount of money that Lily was wishing Scorpius was there. Just like Hugo was wishing for Ruby. It was like trying to walk without one of your legs. All you did was fall all over the place and look like a fool.

James the lucky bastard, had Kira right next to him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her face pressed into his neck. James was whole. James had all of his limbs. And James still looked downright miserable. He also looked ready to murder someone. If Hugo had to guess who was on the top of his hit list it would probably be a tossup between Daisy "I'm a horrible excuse for a person" Doe and Martin, the kid Daisy was apparently crazy about. Though Hugo was sure that no one really blamed Martin for his role in this mess, it didn't help that he was dating Daisy knowing that Daisy was still with Albus. The kid either had no sense of self preservation or he was so mad about Daisy that he couldn't bring himself to care.

Rose had her legs pulled up to her chest, her chin resting on her knees. She looked unhappy but that was pretty typical of her these days. Though her mood had improved immensely since mid-summer when Hugo had started bugging her about going out more, she seemed gloomy now that she was back at school. She was nowhere near the catatonic state she'd once been in, hanging onto Stephen's every letter, but she smiled less frequently and when she did smile, they seemed entirely too personal. Like she was smiling about something she didn't want anyone else to know about. Secret smiles. Smiles that Hugo often wore when thinking about Ruby.

The rest of the Weasley/ Potter clan sat on all the available chair and floor space around the fire in the Common Room. Every Potter or Weasley save one. Albus was off studying in the library with his cheating, lying horrible person/ girlfriend. James had had it in his head to rush down to the library right after Kira had spilled the beans and hex Daisy into an unrecognizable mass of humiliation and regret. "She will rue the day!" he'd said, flourishing his wand and accidentally causing a piece of the ceiling to fall on his head. Kira had managed to settle him down quite a bit and the rest of the family had managed to get a word in about what should actually be done.

If Ruby had been there, she would have known exactly what to do. There would have been no dilly dallying around with stupid ideas of how to tell Albus and mumbled threats against Daisy and Martin. Hugo would have asked Ruby what to do, she would have told them, then they would have done it. Simple, clean, neat and ridiculously easy.

But that part of his body was missing. Off somewhere near London, doing Merlin knows what with Merlin knows who. It was horrible being without her. But an unavoidable, unchangeable fact of their relationship. He spent most of his life without her by his side. It was like spending most of his life without the best part of his brain. Most of Hugo's current upset was over the fact that Ruby wasn't there to help make this situation easier on him. Sure he felt for his cousin. What Daisy was doing to him and would have continued doing if Kira hadn't overheard her, was unthinkable. It was simply something that had never occurred to Hugo as a possibility.

He'd never thought that the only reason a girl might fancy him was because of who his parents were. He'd never imagined that a lass might date him just so she could possibly one day marry him for his name and his name alone. That she might marry him even if she was in love with someone else. That she might spend the rest of her life with him even if he disgusted her.

It made Hugo question every girl who had ever expressed an interest in him. Had she only been flirting with him because his uncle was Harry Potter? Had she only offered to snog him in the upstairs broom closet because his parents helped save the Wizarding World? Had she only ever approached him because of his famous family?

Every girl who had ever expressed an interest in Hugo was subjected to this mental inquisition. Even though Hugo had refused each and every girl in favor of Ruby, the thought that they might have only wanted him for something as stupid as his famous relatives still stung. He could only hope that Daisy was one of the few. That the girls who had fancied him at one time or another had done so because of _him_. Of course if Ruby had been there she would have been able to tell him exactly what he needed to hear so that all thoughts of being used for his name would have flown right out of his head.

He'd have to write her as soon as he was alone.

"Seriously, guys," James said, breaking the silence that had permeated the area after Chucky had suggested that they take turns physically beating some sense into Daisy. "We have to tell him."

"That goes without saying," Lily mumbled.

"How do we tell him?" Rose asked.

"I think it'd be best if we were just brutal. Just tell him when he gets back. Just blurt it out, you know?" James suggested. Sounded like a good plan to Hugo. There was no reason to beat around the bush. Albus needed to know what was going on, sugar coating the situation wouldn't make it any easier for him to deal with it.

"We need to be supportive," Kira countered. "This could very easily destroy him, James. You remember he reacted to Daisy's other rejections. She stopped kissing him, touching him, looking at him and who did he blame? Himself. If we're going to have any chance of getting Albus out of this situation with his self esteem intact we need to be supportive of whatever course of action _he_ chooses."

"Even if he decides to stay with that bitch?" James asked.

"Yes, though I doubt he will."

"That's complete bullocks!" Dominique snapped. "This is a family issue it should be decided by the family," she insisted, with her nose in the air. Kira slunk back against James.

Hugo glanced over at Uncle Bill's youngest daughter. She had never been the pleasantest of his cousin, taking after her mother more than any of Uncle Bill's other children. Not that Aunt Fleur was all that unpleasant, but she was very critical and that was a trait passed on to her daughter. Dominique had a very closed opinion of family. If you weren't married to a Potter or a Weasley you weren't family. End of story. The rest of the family was more open and Hugo knew that in his house Kira and James were already married and had been for quite some time.

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?!" James yelled at Dominique. Honestly, Dominique should have thought a second or two before lashing out at Kira. James was already pissed, there was no cause to make it worse.

"It's all right, James," Kira whispered, trying to soothe James. She looked anything but all right in Hugo's opinion.

"No, it's not all right, Kira," James muttered back never taking his eyes off Dominique. For her part Dominique didn't seem to care that James was angry and Kira hurt. Kira wasn't family in her overly critical eyes, so Kira had no right to add in her two cents on the issue at hand.

"Kira isn't family, James," Dominique said, a-matter-of-factly. "And this is a family issue."

"You can be a real bitch sometimes, Dominique," James said, cruelly glaring at her. The red head on the receiving end of that glare crossed her arms, her mouth settling into an unhappy line.

"James, stop," Kira practically begged. "She's right, I'm not family."

"The hell you aren't! You're just trying to help and that's more than Dominique's doing. So she can just clam up. We're going to do what Kira suggested. We're going to be supportive. When Albus gets back we'll tell him the facts as kindly as possible and then support whatever decision he makes. Because we're a family and that what family's do," James sneered the last sentence in Dominique's directions.

James cupped Kira's cheek and kissed her tenderly. It was the first time Hugo had ever seen his cousin be so kind to anyone. He realized that Kira was hurting and did whatever he had to, to make her feel better. Dominique left with a huff. She'd be back as soon as Albus appeared through the Portrait Hole. They were family after all, and even if they disagreed (and they did, often), even if they fought (and they did, very often) they would always support one another while trying to boss each other around.

The group dispersed after that primarily because James and Kira began snogging. Hugo found an empty desk near the window and began his letter to Ruby. He'd have to talk to her about girls only liking him because of his famous family. He'd have to talk to her about Kira's place in his family and her place once he graduated and they could start dating for real. She'd know too. She always knew. She was his right arm, his strongest leg and the smartest half of his brain.

If anyone knew what he needed to hear it was her.


	17. The Man in the Mirror

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I'll try to get to updating some of my other stories that I've neglected for who knows how long.

**Chapter Seventeen**

The Man in the Mirror

The stars winked down at Albus. In the distance the wind played through the trees of the Forbidden Forest making the woods look like a stormy sea of leaves, branches and darkness. The cool evening air slapped at Albus' cheeks. The harsh slap kept him awake and kept him from paying any significant attention to the pain slowly seeping into every part of his body. The pain, born mostly of humiliation, originated in his chest, somewhere around where his heart used to be. The only thing that kept him perched on the thick banister at the edge of the Astronomy Tower was the possibility that tomorrow might be better. It was unlikely that it would be, but there was a possibility and that slight chance was better then nothing for Albus.

He was smart enough to know that though his future seemed bleak and miserable at the moment it wouldn't always feel this way. He wouldn't have the bone deep pain permeating his being for the rest of his life. He wouldn't have to avoid the pitied gazes of his family every time he walked down the hall or entered the Common Room or went anywhere any one of his cousins or siblings might be. This feeling of inadequacy wouldn't last. None of the many negative emotions swirling around his being would last. And that was the only reason Albus didn't let the misery he was currently enduring consume him and force him to do something stupid.

He would survive this. Though at the moment how he would survive it seemed dubious and far in the future. The whole horrible debacle had happened hours ago and had been dealt with hours ago, but Albus still couldn't get the look on James' face out of his mind. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Daisy crying. All he could hear in the moments when the wind stopped roaring was Daisy begging him, begging him not to break up with her. She would learn to love him, she'd said. She would stop seeing Martin, she'd promised. She would do anything, even shag him if it meant she didn't have to tell her parents that he had broken up with her, she'd pleaded.

Showing no emotion Albus had told her it wasn't good enough. First off he didn't believe that you could learn to love someone. The love was either there or it wasn't. Sure there are certain cases when you simply don't realize that you do in fact love someone until something happens to open your eyes to the fact. But that wasn't the case with Daisy. She was hoping or promising her love would grow from nothing. Because that was what she felt for him. Nothing. If she had felt something, anything she wouldn't have planned to rope him into a loveless marriage, just so she could please her parents. The fact that she was willing to leave her real boyfriend for him was no incentive to stay with her. Honestly she would just learn to recent him, not love him. Besides Albus was still too kind hearted to inflict the kind of pain she had inflicted on him onto her. If she wanted to be with Martin Albus had no right and no desire to stop her.

As for shagging, at one time it would have been a wet dream come true, but now Albus never wanted to see her again, let alone touch her in anyway that might give her pleasure. It didn't help that somewhere deep inside he still liked her. Albus had a feeling that was why it hurt so much. He liked her even though she didn't care one wit about him. Perhaps it wasn't even her he liked. She certainly hadn't done anything likable recently. Perhaps he had created a perfect Daisy in his mind and that was the girl he still liked. It was very hard to believe that he was at all attracted to the girl who had humiliated him so thoroughly. Any soft feelings towards her were unwelcome but seemingly unavoidable.

Daisy's parents had put her in an impossible position. There was no way for her to please herself and them. Either she stayed with Albus and destroyed her own happiness or she broke up with him and disappointed her parents. It was a no win situation for Daisy and in the end all she'd managed to do was break his heart and destroy any inherent trust he might have in any witch who expressed an interest in him. He would forever be wondering if she wanted him for himself or for his famous father. Every time she pushed him aside for one reason or another he would think she was just going to suffer through the rest of her life with him so she could marry the son of Harry Potter.

Daisy had ruined him for all witches and not in a good way. He could only trust witches he was related to and that didn't bode well romantically. What Albus needed was a nice Muggle girl who knew all about witches and wizards but nothing about his parentage. A girl who had perhaps seen more then she should have and had come to the correct conclusion. She knew in her heart that magic was real but knew nothing about the people who practiced it. That girl would be perfect.

Albus was wary of giving her any specific characteristics for fear of falling into the same trap Daisy had unknowingly set. She needed to be a girl who was just right with whatever personality traits she had. A girl who was just herself. A girl who had no ulterior motives for liking him. That was the girl for him.

No Daisy Doe would do.

Albus pulled out his father's Invisibility Cloak and wrapped it around himself. He shuffled out of the Astronomy Tower and wondered down the hall vaguely towards the Gryffindor Common Room. He was tired. Not just physically but mentally as well. He just wished he could sleep until this whole mess blew over. Daisy wasn't about to let him go without a fight. She'd pretty much told him so. She wanted to make her parents happy and really didn't care much if she made Albus and herself unhappy in the process.

She told him to his face that she was determined to learn to love him. She would be where ever he was, she would write to him everyday during the summer, she would act as though he hadn't broken up with her. All to please her parents. So basically she would be throwing salt on his still throbbing wounds because he refused to give her what her parents wanted for her.

And Albus in an attempt to save face would have to tell his entire family what she planned to do so that they might intercept her before she made this situation a million times more humiliating then it already was. There was no way Albus was going to let little Daisy Doe bully him into a relationship he had been and always would be miserable in. He wouldn't settle for what her parents wanted. That just wasn't good enough. He deserved better. He deserved so much better then Daisy Doe.

Albus cleared his throat until the Fat Lady woke up enough to let him into the Common Room. He flopped down on a couch before the dying fire while tucking the Invisibility Cloak into his winkled school robes. His day had been miserable and tomorrow wasn't looking much better. He'd been hoping that one of his relatives would still be awake so that he could tell them about Daisy's plan. That relative would tell another relative, who would tell another and so on and so forth until they all knew. But he was alone in the Common Room alone with the fact that he'd have to relive his humiliation with his family tomorrow.

Albus closed his eyes and cursed Daisy to the deepest pits of hell. It was still a hundred times better then anything she deserved. It was warm in hell and she was cold. So cold that she deserved to freeze.

Albus didn't realize that he'd nodded off until he felt a gentle hand on his arm, shaking him awake. He blinked open his eyes and was met with a slightly blurred version of his sister. Lily helped him find his glasses by guiding his hand to his forehead, where they were hiding. Albus blinked and gave her a strained smile that probably looked more like a grimace.

"How'd it go?" she whispered. Albus closed his eyes and sighed. He really didn't want to talk about it, but he knew that if he told Lily the rest of the family would know by morning and all he'd have to deal with was pity.

"Shitty. She's decided that she's basically going to stalk me until I take her back," Albus mumbled.

"That bitch," Lily snapped. Albus grinned. There were moments when he really loved his family. This was one of those moments.

"Pretty much. She even told me she could, quote 'learn to love me.' Like love was something you could have for someone through sheer force of will."

"If that was true you'd like she'd try to will herself into a better person." Lily crossed her arms and huffed.

Albus shook his head and laughed silently and humorlessly. The best thing about his family was the fact that they'd always stand by his side. Even when he didn't deserve it. He'd made a huge mistake with Daisy, yet every one of his relatives was blaming her. None of them thought for a second about what fault lie on him. He was a smart guy, he wasn't blind, deaf or dumb. He should have seen what was right in front of him. Daisy didn't want him, but was for some reason still with him. Her reasons couldn't be good if she was so disgusted with him that she wouldn't even look him in the eyes.

He should have seen it. He should have known. There was no excuse good enough for why he hadn't.

"Could you tell… everyone?" he asked, absently. Lily would know what he meant.

"As good as done," she promised. "But they're all going to want to know how you are…"

"Just tell them I'm pissed." She nodded. He looked over at her. He could see in her eyes that she knew there was more to it then that. "I am pissed, Lily."

"And rightly so. But…"

"I really liked her, or thought I did. Seeing her for what she really is just makes me feel like a fool for ever falling for it. She had this planned from the first time she kissed my cheek. Our whole relationship was orchestrated by her and her parents."

"Exactly, Al. It wasn't your fault-"

"No, no it wasn't. But I'm supposed to be the smart Potter, the well behaved Potter, the Potter that notices things the other two Potters miss and I couldn't tell that my girlfriend was a conniving, backstabbing whore. I thought she was innocent and shy and sweet, but no. If I got it so wrong with her how can I ever trust myself to make the right choice down the line?"

"Stop it, Al," Lily snapped. "She didn't just fool you. We all thought she was sweet, innocent and shy. That's why we got so upset when we found out the truth. Not just because it would hurt you, but because she made a fool of everyone in this family who thought highly of her. We were all wrong. She played her part well and fooled us all. Don't blame yourself and try not to let this ruin the relationships you have in the future."

"I can try, Lily, but I don't know how much good it'll do."

"Trying is the best any of us can do."

Albus nodded. "Thanks, lil' sis."

"No problem, big bro."

---

Scorpius splashed some cold water onto his face and scrubbed his fingers through his hair. He looked up at himself in the mirror and tried to think past the thoughts buzzing through his brain. He was in the loo he shared with his dorm mates half naked, aroused and confused. Most teenage boys would have been able to get past the confusion to enjoy the arousal, but Scorpius wasn't like most teenage boys.

First and foremost he thought that wanking while anyone was within ear shot was just asking to be humiliated and uncomfortable. He'd accidentally walked in on his dorm mates too many times to count to even consider doing that sort of thing while his dorm mates were mere feet away from him. The arousal would have to wait or fade on its own, because he wasn't interested in doing anything about it himself.

The confusion resulted from the same place as the arousal. Scorpius' girlfriend Lily. She was the only person Scorpius had ever met that had the ability to make him both aroused and confused at the same time. The confusion was harder to understand then the arousal. Just thinking about Lily's lush curves and sweet lips could get Scorpius unbelievably hard. The confusion, well… confused Scorpius. But if he had had the presence of mind to really think about it he would have known that he was confused because he was in love.

Of course, Scorpius already had recognized this to a certain extent, but he wasn't quite ready to admit it even to himself. Not even in the confines of his own mind. He couldn't very well tell Lily how he felt when he wasn't entirely comfortable with it himself. Besides which he wasn't entirely certain how Lily would react to the news. She'd been so brutal about her honesty with him, lately. It was like she wanted him to know her inside and out. But when she looked at him sometimes… he could see in her eyes a sadness that defied explanation.

On the rare occasion that he actually asked her what was wrong, she always denied that anything was wrong, but Scorpius knew. He had a feeling, a bone deep feeling that something was wrong. That she was lying to him. The woman he l-l-liked, a lot was lying to him, for some reason that felt like it was his fault. He should know what was wrong if she was being so damn honest with him. It seemed that she was interested in being honest about everything but the one thing he really wanted to know.

It wasn't like he felt like he had any right to complain. He wasn't being entirely honest about his feelings or the fact that he still wrote his mother everyday. Or even the fact that he'd been all but exiled from his own House. None of his Housemates talked to him, or looked at him and most of them seemed to believe that he was infringing on their territory whenever he went to bed. His dorm mates didn't seem to mind his presence either way. It was upsetting because he used to consider them friends. It was upsetting for a number of reasons, first and foremost being the fact that his exile was most certainly orchestrated by his father.

His mother didn't say as much in her letters due in part to the fact that she felt torn between her love for her son and her loyalty to her husband. Scorpius thought it was an easy decision, but couldn't find it in his heart to be mad at his mother for her indecision. It was an impossible situation any way you looked at it. He would love his mother no matter what she did so long as she stayed in his life. He didn't want to loose her over something so stupid as whom he was dating.

Honestly, the hatred between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy should remain between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy and not be expected to carry on to their children. The Potter seemed to believe this way and had done something amazing by opening their home to him. His father would never have done something so generous for any of the Potter or Weasley children. But then the Potters would never abandon their children. To them there was never a good enough reason to do something so heartless.

Scorpius flopped onto the closed toilet seat and sighed. Something was going on with the Potters and the Weasley but he had no clue what. Not that he really expected to be told. He might live at the Potter house, eat at their table and learn from their patriarch, but he wasn't a Potter or a Weasley. And whatever was going on was clearly a family matter. He wasn't family, he wasn't to be told. It was harsh reality and one of the reasons that he held onto his mother so fiercely. She was the only family he had left. He never got on with his pure blood fanatical family, so his mother and father had been about it.

Aunt Andromeda was busy with her friends and Teddy and enjoying her old age that the few letters he got from her were cherished but rare. He couldn't and refused to expect a lot from her. She'd already given him more then he could hope for. She'd been one of the few to break away from the family's pure blood mania. Her and her cousin Sirius Black, who Scorpius regretted having never met almost every day. From the stories he heard from Harry, Ron and Hermione he was strong and brave and he made his family after the one he was born with failed him. Andromeda had done the same.

It was a plan he had for himself. He would have loved to have talked to both of them about how they'd gone about doing it. He wanted to build a family, but it seemed that he lacked the materials necessary to do so successfully.

There was tapping at the loo's window. Scorpius opened the window and took the letter the owl who had been tapping. It flew away before he could give it anything for its troubles. The letter had Lily's messy scroll on the front. She'd written his name in her swirly hand writing and had even dotted the i with a heart. He'd noticed that she only did that when she wrote his name, like she loved writing his name so much she had show it somehow. It always warmed him when he saw that sloppy little heart and it didn't fail to do so now.

Scorpius unfolded the letter and read.

_Hey Hotstuff,_

_Here's what's been going on. Daisy Doe, the bitch from hell, was two timing Albus with some tosser named Martin. And if you'll believe it that's not even the worst part! Apparently her parents had emotionally blackmailed her into dating him in the first place. They wanted their daughter to marry a Potter. How ridiculous is that!? They knew that it was very likely that the two of them would end up broken up. I mean, shit most teen relationship don't last, but no they had to insist that she marry a Potter. Even if they hated each other, even if they disgusted each other, they had to get married._

_Anyway Albus broke it off with her and she's decided that making her parents happy is more important then Albus' happiness, so she's going to basically stalk him until he changes his mind about them being together. He's pissed and he feels foolish (keep that last part to yourself, Al asked that I only tell the family that he's mad) and he just wants this whole mess to be over with. We're going to have to run interference for him. I know that none of us want Albus to have to deal with any more humiliation and heart ache then he's already dealing with, so if you could stick to him like a barnacle whenever you can and always try to edge Daisy out of situations that would be a great help._

_See you tomorrow, miss you lots._

_Kisses,_

_Lily_

By the time Scorpius finished the letter he was just about choking. Not over the horrible situation Albus was in, though it was horrible and Scorpius would do everything in his power to make it easier on him, but over the way Lily seemed to be referring to him as part of her family. All the 'we's and 'us's seemed to indicate that she was including him in the family. The fact that she was even telling him what was going and including him in what the family would be doing to help Albus was very telling.

Scorpius shook his head.

Hadn't he just been musing over the fact that he lacked the materials to build his own family? And what had happened but Lily just gave him that family. Gave it to him like it was something he'd always had, but never realized. Like he put up a curtain to hide the truth from himself and all she had to do was pull that curtain aside and force him to look at what had been right in front of him for months.

He wasn't the Potters' house guest. He wasn't their ward. He wasn't some kid who lived over their garage. He was a part of their family like Kira was. He was an extension of their family. And they, unlike the family he used to have, didn't mind extending themselves for him. They thought he was worth the effort and that was a damn good feeling.

He honestly couldn't blame Daisy's parents for wanting her daughter to be a part of something so wonderful, but he had a feeling that they had no idea about the real kindness of the Potter/ Weasley clan. They were probably more focused on the fame, which in comparison to the kindness was absolutely ridiculous.


	18. Don't Forget About Me

**A/N: I'VE BEEN GETTING A LOT OF REVIEWS ABOUT STORIES THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN AWHILE. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT I WILL UPDATE THEM.**

**PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!**

**Chapter Eighteen**

Don't Forget About Me

Stephen ran an anxious hand through his short brown hair and stared at his reflection in the mirror over the vanity. He was in a tiny, speck of a room over the Three Broomsticks waiting for Rose. It was Hogsmeade weekend and he had the day off so they planned to meet. It would be the first time they spent time together since summer. He'd been busy with Quidditch practice and the weekends he'd had off never coincided with the weekends Rose was at Hogsmeade. He was looking forward to seeing her more then seemed healthy. His happiness shouldn't center around someone else as much as it did, or he didn't think it should.

But no matter how many times he tried to be happy despite the fact that he hadn't been able to kiss Rose, hold Rose, be physically near Rose for months, he just couldn't. His whole being had become so wrapped up in her, being away from her was boarder line painful. Quidditch used to be enough for him, but now getting up for practice in the morning was monotonous, redundant without purpose. But if Rose had been there, laying next to him when he awoke to give him a kiss and wish him a good day. If she'd been there when he got home to give him a kiss, to fall into bed with him, to wrap herself around his body. It would have been perfect. Going to practice would have been great if he had Rose to come home to every night.

He almost wished that in between her letters and the few times they actually saw each other he could just forget about how much he adored her. It seemed unlikely because these days he only went to Quidditch practice so he could make money and make Rose proud. The money was so he could take care of her when she graduated. He wanted to win so that Rose would be proud to be with him. Quidditch, something that used to make him happy all on its own, now revolved, like everything else, around Rose. It was almost as if he couldn't live with her, but he definitely couldn't live without her. Or maybe it was that he couldn't live with her the way he was now. He had to have her somehow. While this was terrible in so many ways, it was better then nothing. Nothing was unbearable. At least this way he was able to tell her how much he adored her.

Looking at his reflection, Stephen noted with curiosity how tired he appeared. It was getting tiresome hiding his adoration for Rose from everyone but her. He couldn't tell his family, his friends or his team mates. All of whom had tried to force him on blind dates. His parents were worried that he was still heart broken over Rose and wanted him to move on because they wanted grandchildren. His friends and team mates thought he was being too mopey and needed to get laid. He was getting tired of avoiding the women they all were constantly throwing at him. He was avoiding his friends and family and team mates all for the sake of remaining loyal to Rose. He was tempted to just tell everyone about his relationship with her, but…

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley went to his Quidditch games with ridiculous regularity. If one of his team mates slipped… His parents were old friends of the Weasleys and Potters, if they ran into them… And his friends were idiots and didn't seem to know the definition of the word discretion. Telling everyone would cause more problems then it solved.

There was a tentative knock at the door. Rose was here. Stephen got up and cracked the door open. Rose peeked at him around the door and all the tiredness and stress of his daily life melted away. Rose slipped into the room and wrapped herself around him. She tilted her pretty little head back and puckered her lips. Stephen covered her pink mouth with his own. Their lips moved against each other. He ran his tongue across the seam over lips asking to deepen the kiss. She opened her mouth and walked them back to the narrow bed. They fell onto the stiff mattress in a tangle of robes and limbs.

They remained that way for quite some time. Lost in the joy of their reunion. Eventually they came up for air, grinning at each other, their lips bruised and red.

"Hey, you," Stephen whispered wanting to preserve the intimacy of the moment.

"Hey, yourself," Rose grinned.

"I've missed you." Stephen tucked Rose into his side and tried to find a comfortable position on the bed.

"Really? I couldn't tell," she rolled her eyes. Stephen laughed and Rose pressed her face into his chest. "I missed you, too," she sighed.

"Oh, Rosie, I wish you were graduating this year," Stephen said, wistfully. "It would make my life so much easier."

Rose kissed his throat. He'd written to her about all the blind dates he'd been dodging. "I wish I was too. As soon as I graduate all this sneaking around can end. I'll be an adult and my father won't be able to say or do anything about us being together."

Stephen snorted.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you honestly believe that your father will let up just because you're an adult? He won't let up until your married and even then he might pop in at random intervals to keep you a virgin," he explained.

Rose's face scrunched up in disgust. "No," she said, weakly.

"Sorry, Rosie." Stephen cupped her cheek and reach down to kiss her.

"Well, if my father won't let up until he dies how will your life be easier if I graduated this year?" she asked. Rose moved on top of him and leaned on her elbows.

"It'd easier to sneak around, of course. Your schedule will be more flexible once you've graduated, depending on what you plan to do. If you follow in your father's foot steps you'll be busy all the time. But if you take a job like your mother's, your schedule will be more regular, more open. But it's all about what you want, Rosie," he said.

"You've thought about this, haven't you?" she asked, her tone light and teasing.

"What am I supposed to do at night when I'm cold and lonely with only my mind to keep me company?"

"You're supposed to do what every other cold and lonely taken lad does when they only have their mind and their hand to keep them company." Stephen feared his slightly pink cheeks revealed how often that scenario took place. He was eighteen after all and he certainly wasn't going to betray Rose by having someone else do it for him. Someone who wasn't her at any rate. "Regardless of what you're doing," Rose went on, "I think its sweet you're thinking about my future, our future."

"I can't think of a future that interests me more then the one I'll be sharing with you."

"That was so sweet I think my teeth hurt," Rose cooed. Stephen rolled his eyes.

"There's no need to be sarcastic, Rosie," he muttered. "Here I am laying my heart out for you and you're making jokes."

"Joke, Stephen. I'm making a joke. Don't get your plurals mixed up with your singulars," she corrected.

"Bloody hell, you're your mother!" Stephen exclaimed in mock horror.

"You should be so lucky." Rose smacked him lightly on the chest and kissed him.

---

"I told you, you bloody blitter! I have a boyfriend," Ruby snapped, pushing the bloody blitter in question away.

"If you have a boyfriend how come he's never about?" the blitter asked. Ruby rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving him and his idiotic friends in front of the mall sport's store.

She wouldn't dignify that moron with a response or a proper name. He was a bloody blitter and a bloody blitter he would remain. Ruby found the nearest bin and threw his disgusting note and phone number away. Hugo would not be happy when he heard about this. In fact he'd probably use one of his uncle's ingenious (if slightly cruel) inventions to prank the prat when he got back for winter break. Unfortunately it seemed that Hugo would have quite a few clueless blokes to prank. Every since her chest nearly doubled in size the pea brain prats that infested her school seemed to believe she was suddenly worth their time. Hugo was going to flip when he saw them.

She'd nearly had a heart attack when she noticed how big they'd gotten. Ruby had had to buy a whole new wardrobe because it seemed that girls in her family grew gigantic breasts during their fifteenth year. Her mother had warned her but nothing could have prepared her for the harsh reality. Hugo would be beating boys off her with a bat by the time they stopped. It was not an encouraging thought in light of one of his more recent letters.

He'd detailed the situation one of his cousins, Albus, was going through in the letter. Apparently some girl was only dating him because his father, Hugo's Uncle Harry, was a famous wizard for one reason or another. The heart breaking situation wasn't the reason he wrote though. The reason he wrote was far more troubling. It seemed that Hugo was worried that the witches who had expressed an interest in him had only done so because he had famous relatives. He made a point of saying that he'd turned down each and every witch who'd ever expressed an interest in him in favor of her, but that didn't make her feel a whole lot better.

Witches were throwing themselves at him while she was stuck at home, twiddling her thumbs waiting for his next letter. Witches who had magic to ensnare him, magic in common with him. Witches who had some knowledge as to why Hugo's uncle and parents were so damn famous. She'd asked him about it once but he'd gotten so damn touchy she had just let it go. And all of those witches throwing themselves at her boyfriend probably had normally proportioned breasts. Some days she had no idea why Hugo had anything to do with her. She was a Muggle to him. So much of a nobody he couldn't even let his family know how much they meant to each other.

Ruby's phone buzzed in her pocket. She glanced back at the tosser who had just assaulted her to make sure he hadn't followed her. She was supposed to be shopping with her friends, at least that was what she told her parents. She didn't like her parents or her friends or anyone really to overhear her phone conversations with Hugo. Not because she was ashamed or anything. Sometimes they talked about things best not overheard. For insistence when she asked him about all the witches throwing themselves at him, it was probably for the best that no one heard her but him.

Ruby flipped her phone and quickened her step. There were several secluded places in the bookstore so she headed in that direction. "Wait a second, Hugo," she said instead of a proper greeting.

"Merlin, I missed your voice," he answered. Ruby couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face, his voice was deep and husky over the phone. It made him sound older and somehow sexier. Ruby curled into an overstuffed chair in the corner of the history section. "How are you?" she asked. She couldn't help it. It had been weeks since she heard his voice. It was so easy to let go of every stressor and just revel in the joy of actually talking to him.

"Exhausted," he sighed.

"Oh, why?"

"The whole family's been running interference between Daisy and Albus, because she's decided she can quote 'learn to love him.' So we've been trying to spare him some residual humiliation by keeping her away from him. James and Kira have been hexing her and the bloke she was cheating with, Martin."

"They're pretty pissed at them, huh?" Ruby asked.

"Well, yeah, but he refused to believe that Daisy meant it when she dropped him. I've cornered him a few times trying to hex Al. He seems to think that Albus has tricked or threatened Daisy into chasing after him by throwing around the fact that his father and family are famous. It's positively ridiculous. I haven't a clue what to do about it. Half the family is in detention for hexing Daisy and her stalking moron. While I'm inclined to hex them as well, if I'm in detention who will keep Daisy and Martin away from Al? The guy's been through enough. He doesn't deserve this crap," Hugo said, clearly exhausted and upset.

"I think you're doing the right thing," Ruby said.

"Really?" There was a strange edge to his voice that Ruby didn't understand.

"Of course. Not only is it irrational to rely on violence to solve problems it's also irresponsible. Albus needs you. You can't do much good in detention," she said, absently trying to understand his tone. He'd sounded almost relieved.

"See, I knew you'd understand. James got all upset when I tried to reason with Martin about Al instead of just hexing the idiot."

"Well… James is Albus' brother right?"

"Yes," Hugo said.

"He's probably feeling protective of his brother. He's being aggressive and irrational. Just like Martin. Hurt and hardship can do that to people."

"Is there anything I can do?" Hugo asked almost desperately.

"You can try to reason with them. But strong emotion isn't rational they might not listen. The best thing you can do is fight your own inclination towards violence and remain on course. Revenge isn't what's important. Protecting your cousin is. Just remember that and you'll be all right," Ruby assured him.

"Thank you so much. I really needed to hear that, Ruby." Ruby sighed. There was something she needed to hear but had no idea how to broach the subject. She didn't want to sound like she was attacking him or accusing him of anything. When he said that he'd turned down all those witches in favor of her she believed him. The real problem was that she didn't understand why. He had so much more in common with those witches, what was so special about _her_? "Is something wrong, Ruby?"

Hugo's voice brought Ruby out of her musings. "Hugo?" She hated how meek her voice sounded.

"Yeah?" He sounded worried. She very rarely seemed anything but absolutely strong and self assured. Hugo knew her well enough to know that something was up.

"Why did you refuse all those witches who had an interest in you?" she asked, lightly, hoping that he wouldn't realize how much she needed to know.

"Because I'm with you," he said, confused.

"Oh."

"Ruby, what's going on?" Sharp one, that Hugo Weasley.

"You have so much more in common with those witches. Magic, acceptance, hell you could introduce any one of them to your family, but not me, never me!" Ruby said.

Hugo was quiet for a while and after a few minutes Ruby began to worry he'd hung up on her. He'd hung up on her in the middle of conversations before but those times had always been accidents. "Ruby, I want you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to say."

"Okay."

"From the moment I first met you, to this day this very second, all I've ever wanted was you. I'll take you how ever I can get you. I don't care that you can't do magic or that we have to sneak around behind my family's backs. All I care about is being with you… But if it bothers you…"

"It doesn't I just… I feel like those witches know you better then I do," she admitted.

"How? How could they possibly know me better then you? No one knows me better then you. You're my world, Ruby. The only people who know me better then you are my family and I have no interest in snogging any of them," Hugo commented lightly. Ruby laughed. "You matter Ruby, you matter more then anything else. Don't forget that."

"I won't, I promise."


	19. For the First Time

**PLEASE REVIEW!!! I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS!! HARRY'S SUCH A GOOD DADDY! I THINK I LOVE HIM! REVIEW FOR HIS SAKE!!!**

**Chapter Nineteen**

For The Fist Time

James curled his body around Kira. She was fast asleep, completely relaxed and totally naked. They'd been shagging not a few hours ago. James was as shocked at the turn of events as I'm sure you, my lovely reader are. Kira had come to him saying they needed to talk about their future. James had freaked at the prospect. When more girls said they wanted to talk about the future it usually meant that a break up was imminent. But James really should have known better. Kira wasn't most girls. She was Kira. When she said she wanted to talk about the future she actually meant that she wanted to talk about their future together.

When the subject of moving in together came up, Kira made it clear why she'd slowed down their physical relationship. It wasn't because she hadn't been enjoying herself as James had feared, but because she didn't want to accidentally shag and then regret the fact that the moment wasn't more special. They'd talked a lot after that. They were both adults and talking about the future was important. Making actual plans was important.

James had assured her that they would wait as long as she wanted. He'd assured her that he wanted their first time to be special too, but said, "It's us, babe. It'll be special whenever we do it. And it'll stay special because we actually care about each other. We won't be shagging because it feels good and we're both bored. We will be making love because we want to be close to each other as close as two people can get."

She'd jumped him after that.

James had assumed that she just wanted to snog. But he'd be wrong. So very wrong. And for the first time in his seventeen years he wasn't ashamed to admit that fact. He'd scream it from the roof tops if he could.

It had started out as very heated snog. Then she took her shirt off. It wasn't the first time James had seen her breasts, or touched her breasts or even kissed her breasts, so he didn't really get it at that point. He didn't get it after she forced him to take his shirt off. He didn't get it after she took her trousers off, or after she helped him out of his trousers. But he did get it (finally) when she started rubbing him through his boxers. He'd pleasured her before, by slipping his hand under her knickers and that usually was enough for him to enjoy himself as much as she did. But she'd never touched him intimately. That was his clue. That was when he knew what she had in mind.

And to his credit, he stopped her. She'd just told him she wanted to wait until they graduated to have sex. And even in James' lust muddled mind he remembered what she'd said. It too several minutes for her to convince him beyond a shadow of a doubt that she actually wanted to have sex. That she wasn't just horny, that this was what she really wanted to do. He couldn't count the number of times he told her that there would be no turning back, that she couldn't undo it after they did it.

She assured him that it was what she wanted to do by placing a Silencing Charm on the door of his bedroom. They were at his home for Winter Break and it was the middle of the night. They wouldn't be interrupted, with her charm they wouldn't be overheard. And it was perfect. They fit together just right. And even though James was embarrassingly quick and Kira was in quite a bit of pain in the beginning, James couldn't have been happier.

They'd practiced a few more times after that, until they both feel into an exhausted sleep. James woke a few hours later when the sun became too impossibly bright for him to ignore. It took him a moment to remember why exactly he was naked. When he did a lazy, sated grin stretched across his face. Kira, his lovely Kira had deflowered him. And he had deflowered her. Of course he'd done nothing but enjoy himself, she on the other hand… He hated the fact that it had hurt her. She'd stayed quiet but he could see the discomfort in his eyes. The pain.

They'd stopped for a bit after the first time, just so he didn't hurt her again. The look in her eyes told him that they hadn't exactly succeeded. She was still in pain, but if her murmurs of pleasure and whimpers of desire were anything to good on she did enjoy herself the second time.

Kira whimpered in her sleep. James kissed her shoulder up her neck to her cheek. He started nibbling on her earlobe. She whimpered louder and started wiggling in his arms. James groaned in her ear.

"James," Kira complained, sleepily.

"Whaaat?" James asked. His hands crept up her body and settled over her breasts. Kira groaned and arched her back. "You like that, baby?"

Kira snorted and started laughing.

"What?!" James demanded.

Kira yawned, stretched and turned over so she could look at him. "You like that, baby?" she asked in a deep, false baritone, before breaking down in giggles.

"I thought it was sexy," James huffed after she stopped laughing longing enough for him to get a word in edgewise.

"Oh, please, James," Kira groaned. "I didn't do… that with you because I think you're sexy," she scoffed and leaned up on her elbow. While James was offended he had to admit (begrudgingly) that he liked the view.

"But you _do_ think I'm sexy, right?"

"Oh, very sexy. You just happen to be the sexiest bloke I've ever met." Kira poked him in the chest for emphasis.

"I bloody well better be," James mumbled.

He rolled on top of her and began snogging her brains out. He was hoping like hell for a repeat of last night. His parents were gone for the day, so they didn't have to worry about being walked in on by anyone who could punish them. Lily would be holed up in Scorpius' flat over the garage, the two of them dead to the world until lunch. And Albus spent most of his time in Dad's office reading any number of the hundreds of books that lined the walls. It was unlikely that they would be interrupted and they definitely wouldn't be missed.

Kira hitched her legs up around James' hips and he knew that she was thinking a long the same lines that he was. Her fingers tangled in his hair and his lips slipped down her neck to her chest. Kira's fingers tangled in his hair, making it messier then it already was (which was a near impossible feat, but she managed).

"Son of a BITCH!!"

James pulled away from Kira most unwillingly. That sounded like Albus. He sighed. Daisy had been sending him letters all Winter Break. For the most part James, Kira, Scorpius or Lily managed to intercept them and burn them before Al even knew that the letters existed. Apparently neither Lily nor Scorpius had been able to pull themselves away from each other long enough to pay attention to when the owls arrived. If sound of tearing paper, growling, grumbling and stomping was anything to go by Daisy had sent another and Albus had gotten it.

"Love," James said, apologetically.

"I know. Go take care of your brother." She gave him a parting kiss.

James slipped out of his bed, very reluctantly. It was cold and she was warm and he had to leave her before he could enjoy her again. James fumbled around his room looking for his trousers and a shirt. He tried to keep his back to Kira who still lay nude, snuggled in his bed. If he thought too hard about that fact there was no way he was going to be able to help his brother. He'd be too damn distracted.

James couldn't stop himself from kissing her one more time. That kiss deepened and James was about climb back into bed with her when he heard some very hard and angry foot steps outside his bedroom. It was Albus. With one parting kiss James left his room. He was careful about when he opened the door, in case Albus was still close enough see inside his room. James knew that Albus probably already thought that he and Kira had been sleeping together for months, but that didn't mean that James needed to flaunt the fact.

When James found Albus, he was sitting in the kitchen scribbling furiously on a piece of paper. The family owl (who had been dubbed Snowy but a ten year old Lily) was waiting patiently to deliver the letter.

"Al? Who're you writing to?" he asked. He had a feeling that he already knew.

"Don't play dumb, James," Albus snapped.

"Oh, come on, Al. Why are doing this?"

"Because she won't leave me alone. Why won't you leave me alone?"

James had never seen Albus so angry. Albus was scrunching up the letter that he was trying to write he was so upset. His face was creased with anger.

"Look at what she sent me! Look!" Albus threw a crumpled up picture at James.

James unfolded the picture, said, and I quote, "What in the hell?!" and threw it as far away from him as he could manage. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked when sanity and the ability to speak returned.

"Who does that?! What kind of sane person does that!?" Albus whipped out his wand and pointed it at the sexually suggestive picture of Daisy laying face down on the floor. She wasn't naked or in her knickers or anything, she was in her barely there bathing suit, but her pose…

"Wait, Al!" James said, stopping him. "I think this has gone far enough. Too far really." James gently but firmly forced Albus to put his wand away. "I think it's time to talk to Mum and Dad."

Albus looked hopelessly up at his older brother. They both had been trying to avoid this. All of the Potter and Weasley children had been trying to avoid this. They didn't want to have to embarrass Albus anymore, but Daisy wasn't letting up and it looked like it was just getting worse. Who knew what picture she would send next after this one failed to work? It was time to end this once and for all and the only people who could do that were their parents.

"Yeah," Albus mumbled.

"Do you want to go see Mum and Dad now, or would rather wait until they get home tonight?" James asked.

"Let's just get this over with," he said, walking over to the fireplace.

James scooped up the picture and thrust it into his pocket without looking at it. He made his way over to staircase just as Kira was making her way down stairs. He kissed her partly because he couldn't help himself, but mostly because he needed the reassurance.

"We're going to see Dad at the Ministry," he said. "This Doe business has gone too far."

"What happened?" she asked, genuinely concerned. James looked over to where Al was waiting by the fireplace, looking forlorn and thoroughly put out.

"It's in my front pocket," he whispered. Kira reached into his pocket and withdrew the picture. She gasped and stuffed it back in.

"Go, go now," she ordered.

---

Lily stood outside of her father's office with Scorpius. They both wore the same look of utter shock. She was mentally kicking herself for not getting out of bed early enough to reach the mail before Albus. If she had this would never have happened… But then Daisy would still be sending Albus letters and generally stalking him like some kind of crazy person. All in all it was better this way.

Better but embarrassing for Albus.

Lily honestly couldn't believe that anyone would think that sending a slutty picture to their ex would end well. Least of all if your ex's father was Head of the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic. It made no sense. But then again Lily was sane and had never been broken up with. That changed quite a bit.

"Really, Mr. Potter," Mrs. Doe said. "We had no idea that Daisy and young Albus had broken up. Surely this wouldn't be such a big deal if they were to get back together."

Lily couldn't believe it. That woman was defending what her daughter had done. Daisy had basically stalked Albus since he'd broken up with her, sent a nearly naked picture of herself to him and her mother had the gall to say it would be okay if they got back together. And Lily didn't like they way that Mrs. Doe had said, "Potter." Like it was a holy word or something.

"Daisy admitted that she was under the impression that they were just taking a break," Mr. Doe said.

_Taking a break. TAKING A BREAK!!!_ Were her ears deceiving her! There was no way that Daisy Freakin' Doe thought that she and Albus were taking a break. She hadn't been able to say more then two words to Al since they broke up because the family had kept her away. That little liar!

"Albus made it very clear that their relationship was over," Dad said. Lily nodded her head in agreement. "When he found out that Daisy was only staying with him because you wanted her to marry a Potter and that she was dating someone else on the side he told her, under no uncertain terms, the state of their relationship."

"There is no excuse for her behavior. And if it made my son uncomfortable what she did wouldn't be acceptable even if they were still together," Mom said.

"I can't believe this," Scorpius whispered in Lily's ear. She shivered as his hot breathe caressed her neck.

"I know. I just can't help thinking if any of my exs got it in their heads to send me something so…" she floundered for the right word.

"Border line sexually abusive," Scorpius suggested.

"Yeah. I'd feel… violated, you know? Dirty or something."

Scorpius wrapped his arm around her waste and leaned his chin on her shoulder. Lily melted into his embrace, welcoming the support. On the other side of the hallway, also listening in, James and Kira were wrapped in a similar embrace.

"It was innocent-" Mrs. Doe began, but Mom interrupted her.

"It was vastly inappropriate. And I won't tolerate it. Your daughter has done nothing but harass my son since he broke up with her. What she did was not innocent and it is not okay."

"Ginny is right," Dad said. He was putting on his Head Auror voice. It was voice he often used with Scorpius, so Lily was familiar with it. "This kind of activity will not be tolerated. I truly hate that I have to do this, but if your daughter pulls a stunt like this again I will be forced to file a criminal charge of stalking. My son has made it very clear that he has no interest in a relationship with your daughter. It is past time that she and the both of you respect that choice. I'll be talking to the Head Mistress at Hogwarts so that she aware of the problem and if necessary can make sure that your daughter has no classes with my son. This ends here and this ends now."

Dad's tone was so final that Lily felt a shiver go up her spine. It wasn't a pleasant shiver.

"If we had known that Daisy and Albus we not longer together we would never have condoned such behavior," Mr. Doe said. "Criminal charges will not be necessary. We'll be leaving now."

"But-" Mrs. Doe began.

"Now," Mr. Doe snapped.

There was some scuffling behind the door as the Does prepared to leave. James and Kira, Scorpius and Lily scampered down the hall into James' bedroom. All four of them jostled for position by the door so that they could hear what was going on.

"We're very sorry for Daisy's behavior, Mr. Potter," Mr. Doe said.

"You ought to be," he said, shortly.

"Don't worry, Daisy-Dear," Mrs. Doe 'whispered,' "there are other famous wizards out there for you." Her tone was almost a sneer, like Albus was missing out on something by refusing to stay with her daughter.

"What a bitch," James muttered angrily.

"You're telling me," Scorpius agreed.

Mom and Dad didn't comment on Mrs. Doe's utter idiocy. The hallway was quiet for several minutes and Lily pulled away sighing. She'd picked the right moment to move away because the door opened suddenly, causing James, Kira and Scorpius to fall forward at Dad's feet. Lily was left looking properly sheepish.

"Come into my office," Dad said, before walking away. Lily jumped over her brother, her brother's future wife and her boyfriend and scampered into her father's office. Albus was sitting in the bay windows looking embarrassed and oddly relieved. Mum was pacing and Dad was sitting in one of the large leather chairs near the fireplace.

Lily sat next to her brother and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Scorpius was the next to enter the office, he leaned against the wall next to Lily. Kira and James came in hand in hand and sat cuddled together on one leather chair. Mum clicked her tongue at their PDA but didn't comment or tell them to move into separate chairs.

Clasped in Dad's hand was the picture that Daisy had sent Albus. Lily had never seen it and didn't really want to. But morbid curiosity had her staring at what little of the photo she could see. Before she could get a good look, Harry threw it in the fire.

"Last night Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron found out something quite upsetting. They discovered that Hugo's been dating a Muggle for several years," Dad said.

"Why would that matter?" Lily asked.

"It's a risk, there's a lot that he can't tell her," Ginny said.

"How did they find out?" Scorpius asked.

"Aunt Hermione was picking up in his room and found a mobile telephone in his pocket," Ginny said.

"The bank also contacted Uncle Ron saying that Hugo had been moving some money out of his account, apparently to pay for the phone," Dad said.

"What's the big deal?" James asked. "If he hasn't said anything to her and isn't going to…"

"The big deal isn't that he didn't trust his parents or his family with truth. Apparently no one knew about her, but he'd been with her for years. He cares about her, he wants to share the truth with her, but knows that he can't."

"Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron don't like the fact that he didn't feel able to tell them the truth about his relationship," Mum said.

"The reason we're bringing this up in light of what has happened," Dad began, "is because you didn't come to us when it became clear that Daisy was taking Albus' rejection too far. We never want you to feel like you can't come to us when there's a problem like this."

"We know that you won't tell us everything. You're teenagers and you have secrets. But when something gets to the point that where criminal charges could logically be filed it is far past the time when we should have been involved."

"Scorpius, Kira, we both know that they you have your own parents but when we agreed to take you into this house and agreed to take you under our care we expect honesty from you both. So, this goes for the two of you as well. Your mother and I might not be teenagers now but we were once and we know what it's like to have deal with relationship issues. We've dealt with quite a few ourselves."

"We want you to always feel comfortable coming to us with your problems. No matter how trivial they might seem."

"We're always here for you. Whenever you might need us and for whatever reason," Dad said. "Our first priority is always going to be the five of you."

"All right now," Ginny said. "Go clean up, dinner's in a few minutes."


	20. The Truth Hurts

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. I've gotten a few messages about other stories and I want to take this time to apologize. I know how much Lily and James rock and I absolutely love how enthusiastically people have responded to my original ideas with the pair. I don't know when or if I'll be updating those stories. I know what I want to happen in those stories, but I don't just want to write crap for the sake of putting up a chapter. So be patient (I know you already have!) I may just update.**

**Chapter Twenty**

The Truth Hurts

Albus cringed away from his Uncle George. He hoped that his uncle hadn't noticed. He didn't want to make his uncle feel bad but he'd been on the receiving end of so many "reassuring touches" that he was honestly five seconds away from going stock raving mad. He just wanted to forget about all the crap he'd been through but every few minutes he'd get a tight smile or a sympathetic look and the humiliation would flush through his system once more. Humiliation and morbid curiosity. Albus had no idea what his aunts and uncles had been told about his situation.

When the news about Hugo broke apparently all the aunts and uncles sat down with their children and had a talk about honesty and feeling comfortable talking to their parents about anything. And the flood gates opened. One of his cousins, Albus had yet to find out which, had spoken up about his situation. That got the cousin's siblings talking which got the aunts and uncles talking. Probably within hours the whole family knew what had happened to him.

Albus supposed he was lucky that no one had sent him a sympathy card. He doubted he would have survived the embarrassment.

As Albus looked around the Burrow the usual sense of peace he got from this place was noticeably absent. He was surrounded by love and not the family love that was common during Christmas time. This was romantic love and it made him want to yack. James and Kira, who couldn't keep their hands off each other on the best of days, had been attached at the lips as of late. Lily was wrapped around Scorpius upstairs somewhere. And Victoire was sitting on Teddy's lap smiling contentedly while her husband rubbed her flat belly.

(Uncle Bill was glaring at the obliviously happy couple, apparently he wasn't ready to be a granddad but in nine months time he wouldn't have much of a choice).

The only member of the family that could really understand how he felt was Hugo, but that didn't make Albus feel any better. They were both miserable. Albus had been humiliated by his ex-girlfriend and Hugo was going to have to break up with his Muggle girlfriend. Albus had overheard Dad, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione talking about it a few days ago in his Dad's home office. It seemed that Hugo refused to talk about how much Ruby (Hugo's girlfriend) knew about him, his school and his family and he refused to break up with her.

It all put Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron in a tight spot because of their positions in the Ministry. If word got out that their son was dating a Muggle, the higher ups would insist on knowing exactly what she knew about the Wizarding community. They preferred to hear it from their son (who had merely told everyone that Ruby didn't know anything about the Wizarding world, but refused to elaborate). But if Hugo continued to refuse they would have to talk to Ruby herself and they had every right to use a truth telling serum to get what they needed to know.

If Hugo didn't tell them what was really going on they would go to her. They would use the truth telling serum and who knew what they'd find out. As far as Albus was concerned he knew that knowledge was the only weapon at Hugo's disposal at the moment. Clearly Ruby knew something more then she should have or Hugo wouldn't care about telling his parents everything she knew. Albus knew it was wrong, but ever since the whole Daisy debacle he decided that love however immature or gross was worth protecting. Hugo was protecting Ruby, so Albus thought it was only fair that he help his cousin as his cousin had helped him. He still owed every last one of them for keeping Daisy and Martin away from him. Warning Hugo that he'd have to come up with a plausible thing to say to his parents was the least that he could do.

Albus sighed, shook his head and as subtly as possible moved away from Uncle George, who was going on about how to properly lament a lost love.

He sat down next Hugo and shuffled around in his pocket for a piece of parchment. He didn't want anyone overhearing what he had to say to his cousin. Writing it down wasn't all that intelligent, but Albus was lost to come up with a better plan. He needed to warn Hugo and just saying it was out of the question. He'd have to destroy the paper afterwards.

After recovering the parchment and a charmed quill that never needed to be inked, he scribbled a note.

_Your mum and dad and my dad are thinking about forcing your girlfriend to tell the truth about what she knows. I overheard them talking about it in my dad's office._

Albus thrust the parchment into Hugo's hand and watched the agony flash through his eyes as he read. If Ruby knew more then she was supposed to, which it appeared that she did, then Dad and Uncle Ron would have no choice but to modify her memory, by wiping away any memory she had of Hugo and the Weasleys. Albus imagined that that would be far worse then what he'd gone through with Daisy.

Hugo snatched the quill out of Albus' hand and wrote back.

_Thanks._

"No problem, mate." Albus crumbled up the parchment and threw it in the hearth. It crinkled in the fire, before turning to ash.

Albus jumped as he felt a hand settle on his shoulder. He looked up at Teddy, who had miraculously pulled himself away from Victoire. Teddy had that 'Let's have chat, old buddy,' look on his face and Albus suppressed a groan. Talking about his utter humiliation wasn't going to make it better. In fact every time he had to tell someone that he was fine, he died a little inside. If they would just leave him alone, he'd be able to lick his wounds in peace and then maybe he'd actually be fine.

"Let's have a chat, mate," Teddy said. Albus sighed and let Teddy direct him outside. "How you doing?"

"I'm fine," Albus said. _I'D BE FINE IF YOU BASTARDS WOULD JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!_ his mind screamed at Teddy.

"Harry told me all about what happened, mate," Teddy said. "That's not just something that goes away."

"I know that."

"Then do you also know that it'll only get better if you talk about how you actually feel?"

_Don't patronize me, you prick._ "Of course."

"Then talk to me, Albus. Tell me what you're actually feeling."

"I don't want to talk about anything, Teddy," Albus growled. Why did everyone want him to talk? He just wanted to forget. "I'm fine. I promise."

"You're bottling up all your emotions and eventually you won't be able to do that anymore. It'll explode out of you and you'll feel even more foolish for it," Teddy pressed.

"You want me to talk?" Albus had had enough. They wanted him to talk. Fine. He'd talk. But they wouldn't like what he had to say. "All right. I'll talk. This family is filled to the brim with hypocrites." Teddy's eyes widened. "Every last one of them supported me when Daisy screwed me over, but now that Hugo needs that support the family has all but decided to drug his poor Muggle girlfriend. Like she's somehow to _less_ then us! Like all she's good for is the bloody truth locked in her mind! Like we have some right to break into her thoughts and steal them. Daisy was a bitch. A dirty, rotten bitch. She deserves that kind of treatment, but we don't even know this Muggle girl. We don't know her but we all expect Hugo to leave her. Leave her for someone "more suited" for him. Because of that they're hypocrites. No better then Daisy."

"Al-"

"No, Teddy. You know I'm right. Daisy judged me by something I couldn't help. My name. The Malfoy's judged Lily by the same thing. The family thinks they are so far above them, but they're not. The family is judging Hugo's girlfriend by something she can't help. Her blood. Our parents fought a war so that people wouldn't be judged so unjustly, but as soon as it's time and it's important they do that same thing. Who cares what she knows?"

"You should," Teddy cut in. "What happens if she tells someone?"

"Don't be stupid, Teddy," Albus snapped. "If she tells someone they'll think she's crazy. She'll be locked up for the rest of her life. I don't think she's that stupid. One Muggle isn't a risk. It's a group that we should worry about. An individual is reasonable. A group is stupid and panicky. This is one Muggle. One girl. Who clearly cares enough about Hugo to deal with the fact that she only sees him for a few weeks a year. That's enough. That's more than I ever got from Daisy."

Scorpius had never seen Harry Potter look more torn.

He and Lily had been holed up in her mum's old room for the past half hour until Kira burst in saying something about Albus flipping a shit. The whole family, all who knows how many of them, stuffed into the kitchen, leaning over each other to see out windows and the back door, listened in as Albus called every last one of them hypocrites. Scorpius had never seen the Weasley/Potter clan so quiet. Every last one of them was reflecting on the very valid point that Albus had brought up.

Once he was done, Albus wondered off into the backyard. Scorpius couldn't blame him. No one had had the sense to just leave him alone about the whole Daisy debacle, if the kid wanted some space it was certainly something he'd earned. Teddy opened the door, but didn't enter the kitchen because he couldn't. The kitchen was stuffed with people eager to hear what Harry would do about what Albus brought up.

"Ron," Harry asked. "Is there any documentation of this situation?"

"No," Ron admitted. "We wanted to make sure her knowledge was an issue first."

"We're going to let it go," Harry said.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"We're not going to let it go because he's your son and my nephew. We're not going to let it go because Albus is right, even though he is. We're going to let it go because Hugo assured us he hasn't told her anything. There is no proof that any law has been broken and without proof I'm not going to be responsible for the media nightmare following me drugging my nephew's girlfriend," Harry explained.

Hermione sighed, but nodded. She looked through the throngs of family to her son. Hugo stared at his parents and Uncle wide eyed. "You didn't tell her anything, right Hugo?"

"I know the rules, Mum," Hugo said. "I mean they're there for a reason."

"Good."

Scorpius glanced around, wondering if he was the only one who noticed that Hugo hadn't really answered his mum's question. Lily squirmed in his arms. He brought his forehead down to her shoulder so she could whisper in his ear.

"Did you notice that?" she asked.

"Yup."

"This could be bad if our parents find out he did tell her something," she said.

"Why?" Lily looked at him sharply. "Albus made a good point. She's one Muggle. Is anyone going to believe her if she does tell?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"Dad, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione are trusting him with a lot. If it turns out he did tell Ruby something and they find out it could ruin that trust. They won't trust him with anything, you know?"

"So, what do we do?" he asked.

"I don't know that there's anything we can do," Lily said. "There's no proof."

"Well, we could ask him," Scorpius suggested.

Lily snorted delicately and Scorpius kissed her neck. "How would we go about that? Just walk up to him and say, 'Oh hey, Hugo. Did you by any chance break the most important rule of the Wizarding world?'"

"I thought we might be a little more discrete…"

"How?"

"I dunno. Maybe… Offer him help keeping it quiet. We don't have to pester him for information. Honestly I'd rather not find out for sure that he broke the rules."

Lily glanced over her shoulder at him. "Why not? I'd love to know what Hugo told Ruby."

"And have to deal with being ridden with guilt every time your parents are around?"

Lily turned around in his embrace, snuggled deeper into his arms and pressed her lips against his throat. She felt him shiver, tried and failed to suppress her grin. They were at the back of the crowd, well hidden from disapproving eyes.

"It never fails to surprise me, Scorp," she whispered, making sure no one heard her nickname for him. A nickname only she was allowed to use.

He nuzzled the hair on top of her head and sighed, contented. "What?" he breathed.

"The way you regard my parents," she said. "Honestly, I reckon you're a parents dream come true."

Scorpius barked out a laugh, earning him a few confused looks from the Weasley's around him.

"Don't laugh! It's true," Lily insisted, pulling away from him. Her clenched fists rest on her hips, her whole body daring him to contradict her. Scorpius liked her in all her mood, his favorite being when she was in the mood for a heated snog, but he quite liked it when she got all feisty.

"Lily-love, I'm a parent's worst nightmare," he asserted.

Lily glanced over her shoulder and noticed the look on Dominique's face. Apparently she had been listening in and agreed with Scorpius. Lily gave her a dirty look, before catching Scorpius' arm and dragging him out the front door. It was freezing outside, but she was angry enough to deal with it.

"You are a wonderful, good, loyal, hon-"

"I'm the disowned son of a Death Eater, Lily," Scorpius snapped. "It's all I'll ever be. No matter what you think of me, no matter the goodness your family shows me, I'll always be that. I'll always be the son of a Death Eater. This is… brilliant, being here with your family surrounded by love. But… I'm not like Kira. They're never gonna look at me like I belong…"

"I look at you like that," Lily said in a small desperate voice.

Scorpius looked into her large brown eyes, filled with unshed tears and fear. His heart twisted painfully in his chest and he pulled her into his arms. She was his impossible dream. Being good enough to be with her, being with her, being worthy when he finally had her. It all seemed so impossible, how could _he_ ever be good enough for _her_?

But he had her now. That would have to be enough. It was all he was going to get.


	21. Let's Talk About Sex Baby

**A/N: I love you guys! In a time when everyone (myself begrudgingly included) is reading stupid Twilight fanfictions you guys are reading the original… Harry Potter fanfiction! The best fanfiction (I'm only slightly bias). Thanks please read and enjoy and if you do enjoy please review! Thanks a bunch!**

Disclaimer: I wish these people were real. I wish I was a witch. I wish I was rich enough to buy this franchise off of J.K. Rowling. But unfortunately none of those things are true, so… I own nothing. Well I own a bed and T.V. and few pots and pans, that's gotta count for something right?

**Chapter Twenty One**

Let's Talk About Sex, Baby

James sat in his father's office, grimacing at every other word coming out of his father's mouth. As far as he was concerned they'd had this discussion when he was eight. James Sirius Potter had learned everything he needed to about girls and boys then. Attending school a few years later filled in the gaps. Honestly the only time James ever asked his father about sex was when he was too young to realize that was what he was asking about.

James was fairly certain that Al and his Dad had a more open relationship when it came to issues of a… personal nature. Al would just go up and ask Dad, and Dad would just tell him. No big deal.

But for whatever reason ever since that incredibly awkward conversation when he was eight, James had just never been able to open up about sex with his father. It just reminded him of his father pacing and calling a vagina a bugger. And now here he was again, sitting in his father's office, watching him pace and hearing him call a vagina, a vagina. It was somehow more embarrassing. James wasn't quite sure how his father managed it. Calling a vagina a bugger was humiliating, but hearing his father call a vagina, a vagina was just humiliating _him_.

What was worse was that his father had yet to get to the point. He was just going on and on about… anatomy. Anatomy James was intimately familiar with. But his father didn't know that. And hopefully by the end of this conversation he still wouldn't know that. That was James' goal, leave this room without his father knowing that he and Kira had… had sex? That didn't sound right, it didn't sound like enough. It sounded like they did what they did just to do it. Which was not true in the least.

So… they had shagged.

No, that sounded like they did what they did because they were both horny. That might be true on his part, but he knew that it was more than that. So much more.

They made love…

He'd said as much before, but now it felt cumbersome in his mental mouth. Like it was too much, like it meant more…

He loved her, yes. But they were seventeen. Making love seemed like something old people do, old married people who want to have kids.

James knew for a fact that neither of them wanted to do that just yet. They would be all married and old before they had any kids. James shivered at the thought of a few carbon copies of himself running around. He might not admit it out loud but he was well aware of how much of a handful he'd been throughout his life. His earliest memory was of accidentally Apparating to the Burrow when he was three because he wanted to visit his Granddad. The very thought of dealing with someone anything like him was truly terrifying.

So what had they been doing every night for the past few weeks?

They were to return to Hogwarts tomorrow for his last few months at the school. James had been in his room packing (and looking for any bits of Kira's clothing that might have migrated under his bed or wardrobe) when his father came in and asked him for a chat in his office. James knew it was serious then, Dad never invited his children into his office unless they were in trouble or the parentals wanted to have a serious discussion. James was actually hoping that he was in trouble. Being in trouble would mean that he just had to apologize or sit in his room for a week or so.

But this… listening to his Dad, his stoic father talking about vaginas… that was just torture.

"James," Harry snapped. James' head popped up. He hadn't even noticed when he began staring at his feet instead of watching his father and pretending to listen to what he had to say. "Are you listening?"

"Course, Dad," James said, hoping it sounded convincing. He didn't want to garner any suspicion that might get his Dad to start talking about his relationship with Kira. He wouldn't be able to lie if his father asked him outright if he'd been sleeping with- having sex with- making love to- whatevering Kira!

Harry sighed and crossed his arms. James cursed under his breath, he hadn't convinced his Dad of a thing.

"I'm not an idiot. I've made a living watching people and I've spent your whole life watching you. The second you brought Kira home I began watching her. I'd be remiss if I didn't notice the change in the two of you. Besides, your mother has been pestering me since the two of you began dating to talk to you about respecting Kira. Especially since you didn't respect her enough to come up with a more convincing lie about your first kiss… James, are you going to have sex with Kira Fitzsimmons?"

James felt his stomach drop, metaphorically, to his feet. This was it, he couldn't lie. His father would know and give him that look. That disappointed look that would have James spilling his guts in a second. There was no way out of it. By the time James escaped this room his father would know that he had been… doing stuff (really fun stuff) to his girlfriend.

"So, you are then," Harry sighed.

James made a chocking sound in the back of his throat.

"Sex isn't a game, son."

James gagged.

"You have to be responsible," Harry advised

"Blah… Nehhh…" James responded.

"I'm sure one or both of you have come across contraceptive charms in your school careers."

James felt like he might pass out.

"Just know that if you don't cast them correctly or if you're in too much of a hurry the spell won't take."

A sob broke from James' lips.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Really, son. This is that painful?"

"Mahhh…"

"Ever the articulate boy."

"Hey! I'm seventeen, I'm an adult!" James said, his ability to speak suddenly returning. As long as his father didn't start talking about sex again…

"Then you best start acting like it."

James clammed up.

"Your mother and I only want what's best for all you kids. And I think you'd agree that making me a grandfather so soon after you've graduated isn't what you want anymore then it is what's best for you and Kira." James gulped and nodded. "Just… promise me you'll be careful-"

"I w-"

"-and that if you have any questions or concerns you'll come to me… Or better yet write me a letter after you've had time to construct an articulate thought," Harry said.

"Okay, Dad," James said. Harry nodded and James swallowed. "Can I go now?"

"Sure."

James sped out of his father's office as fast as his legs could take him. His face was beet red and he was relishing the thought of hiding under his bed for the next few years, when he ran straight into Kira. Ever the cool and collected sort, Kira took to the new status of her relationship with James with remarkable ease. While James couldn't think of a word or phrase that accurately categorized what the two of them had been doing all Winter Break, Kira had the wherewithal not to care. It was one of the things he absolutely loved about her.

"Heya, Hot stuff," Kira grabbed the front of James' shirt and pulled him closer. "Where're you going in such a hurry?" she whispered in his ear.

"Bah, neehhh, shhhppp…" James said, remembering what he and his father had just been talking about. James began to fear that he would forever associate having… relations with Kira with his father. Which was about as un-arousing as things got in James' world.

"At this point you usually whisper sweet nothings in my ear and let me tell you, you could work on your sweet nothings." Kira pulled away and looked up at James, who was looking at a spot on the ceiling. "Okay, what's wrong with you?" she demanded.

"Wrong?" James squeaked. "Why would you think anything was wrong?"

"If you're going to lie, James Sirius Potter, lie to someone who doesn't know you as well. Now tell me what's wrong," Kira said.

"I-just-spent-the-last-half-hour-talking-to-my-dad-about-sex," James said in one breath.

Kira snorted. She was fluent in Jamesian (the language of the inarticulate James Sirius Potter). "You've talked to your Dad about sex before."

"Shh!" James covered her mouth with his hand and looked around to make sure no one had heard, before dragging her into his bedroom.

"Now this is more like it," Kira moaned, throwing her arms around James' neck and kissing him heatedly.

"Bah!" James yelled detangling himself from his girlfriend.

"Oh, come on, James!" Kira screeched, frustrated.

"You-you-you n-need to learn about respect, young lady!" he yelled, pointing at her. Kira stared at him for a moment before snorting and breaking down laughing. "This is not funny!"

"You're right. This is hilarious."

"You have no idea what it's like, Kira-"

"You're right, James. I don't know it's like to have my parents love me enough to sit me down and talk to me about something vastly important. I haven't a clue what that's like," she snapped.

"Kiki," James whispered, using the nickname he gave her their first year. He hadn't used it in years, not since he realized he fancied her. It just seemed too immature and she had always hated it, so when he figured out they were meant to be together he'd stopped using it.

"Shut up, Potter." Kira stomped out of the room and slammed the door in his face. James proceeded to smash his head against it repeatedly.

* * *

"I don't understand it, Mum!" Lily wailed. "It felt like we were so close, like it was only a matter of time and it would happen. We would both be ready and it would just happen!" Lily threw her arms around her mother shoulders and continued sobbing in earnest.

The pair were in Lily's room curled up on her bed. The conversation had started not unlike Harry and James', but had quickly and efficiently progressed into a discussion about how intimate Lily and Scorpius had been up to that point. Ginny made the mistake of point blank asking her daughter what stage her physical relationship with the boy was at and Lily broke out into uncontrollable sobbing.

Lily then began to wail about how Scorpius had put the brakes on their physical relationship and how she was sure it was because of what he'd said at Christmas. About being the disowned son of a Death Eater and how the Potters and Weasleys would never accept him the way they'd accepted Kira. She was sure that it was because he felt the separation from the rest of the family. The Weasleys and the Potters were a remarkably close knit family and they were all Gryffindors to his Slytherin.

The differences were vast. Plus there was the fact that his father and her father were mortal enemies. They had cursed and hexed each other, insulted and belittled each other for years on end. His grandfather nearly got her mother _killed_! It was no wonder really why Scorpius felt the separation so obtusely. Hating the Potters and Weasleys had been drilled into his head since he was a little boy.

But he, like Sirius Black and Andromeda Tonks, had broken free of the pureblood mania that usually consumed every member of his family. He'd gotten the facts and come to his own conclusion. Lily truly thought that that was enough to bridge the gap between them. He seemed committed to keeping that gap wide and deep. Lily didn't know what to do. Especially since he hadn't been acting differently towards anyone except her.

"So, sweetheart," Ginny said, trying to sooth her child. "You're not having sex?"

"No!" Lily wailed, falling back on her bed covering her face with her hands.

"I know it seems like the end of the world right now, but perhaps… putting the brakes on your physical relationship isn't such a bad thing."

"Not a bad thing?" Lily sobbed leaning up on her elbows to glare at her mother with tear filled eyes. "I've never felt closer to someone in my entire life and he'll barely snog me anymore! That is a big fucking deal, Mum!"

"Language, young lady," Ginny snapped out of reflex. She was James Sirius Potter's mother after all.

Lily let out a screech of frustration and fell back onto her bed.

"Oh, sweetie I'm sorry," Ginny cooed. "Do you have any idea why?"

Lily wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "He doesn't think he's good enough for me. What with his grandfather almost killing you, his father trying on several occasions to kill Dad. It's scary when he talks about it. Like he thinks at any second he'll just turn into them and hurt me." Lily pulled her pillow over her head and sobbed into it.

"Perhaps we should take him to see Andromeda," Ginny suggested. "It might help him figure out some things out, hmmm?"

"But when Mum? We're leaving for school tomorrow and I feel like he's only staying with me because he thinks he'll get kicked out of this house if he drops me!"

"He adores you, Lily!" Ginny insisted. "I'll have your father invite Andromeda over for dinner tonight. He can tell her that Scorpius wants to talk to her about leaving the family. She was close to Sirius. He went through the exact same thing! I'm sure that will take care of it darling."

Lily pulled her pillow over her head and tried to hold back her tears until she heard her mother leave the room. She wasn't anywhere near convinced that talking to Andromeda would help Scorpius see how wrong he was. He wrote to her, what difference would talking to her make? He'd all but made up his mind already.

For some reason he saw Lily's entire family through a… filter or something. A filter that made them seem perfect though he'd bore witness to a plethora of events that proved otherwise. Hell being friends with James should have done the trick. Ever argument they'd ever had should have shoved her imperfection in his face… but all he saw was a group of people who'd stood on the side of right where as his family aligned themselves with hypocrites and murders. And just because of his damn name that was all he thought of himself.

The son of lying, hypocritical murderers.

And all Lily saw was the beautiful young man who'd made up his own mind about the world he lived in. Who had taken the time to find out the truth, not just believe what he was told. Why couldn't he see that _he_ was too good for _her_?

Lily threw her pillow across the room and rubbed her hands over her eyes, hoping to lessen the look of abject misery she was sure coated her features. She had to finish packing and if Aunt Andromeda was coming over she wanted to look good. For Scorpius. Aunt Andromeda was the only family he had left and Lily wanted to look good so that he would be proud to call her his girlfriend.

The door was open a crack, but Lily paid it no mind. She rushed around her room throwing her school stuff in her trunk as fast as she could. Dinner wasn't for another few hours, but she needed to shower and pick out the perfect outfit and that could easily take a few hours to accomplish. Rooting around under bed for the inevitable trainer that got kicked under there, Lily found one of Scorpius' jumpers.

It was green with a thin line of silver around the collar and cuffs. His mother had given it to him years ago and in a fit of heated snogging Lily had pulled it off of him thrown it across the room. How it had ended up under her bed she'd never know…

Lily crawled out from under the bed and unable to help herself she brought the jumper to her face. She buried her nose in the fabric hoping to catch a whiff of his scent. But there was nothing. Not a trace of him left in the tight weave. It just smelled musty. Nothing like the warm earthy scent that encapsulated him.

Lily's eyes filled with tears again. She didn't know why but the thought of his scent leaving his cloths made her think of him leaving her. She hugged the jumper to her chest and cried her eyes out into it, unable to hear the thumping coming from the hall outside her room.

Scorpius had been watching her for the past few minutes. She'd seemed all right, running like a loon around her room, packing. But just as he'd begun to enjoy watching her bum as she wiggled around under her bed, she'd come up with his jumper. She'd smelled it and then for some inexplicable reason began to cry her eyes out.

Scorpius leaned back outside her room and hit his head repeatedly against the wall behind him. He knew in his heart of hearts that she was crying because of him.


	22. Family Matters

**A/N: What's up! Hearing from you guys makes me smile and when I smile I'm happy and when I'm happy I update. See what I'm getting at here? I'm quite proud of this chapter please tell me what you think!**

**Chapter Twenty Two**

Family Matters

Stephen Wood leaned his chin on his older sister's shoulder. She eyed him curiously through the mirror in front of them. Bonnie Wood was three years older than Stephen and if they both hadn't inherited their parents' Quidditch skills she would have been a tough act to follow. She'd been drafted right out of school, like Stephen and their father, but unlike them she actually had the head space while at school to consider things other than Quidditch which was why Stephen had been named Quidditch captain and not his sister.

Bonnie Wood certainly lived up to her name, though. She was very pretty (even Stephen had to begrudgingly admit that). And she was the consummate Wood. A Quidditch player, fan and fanatic through and through. She'd gotten her more stable side from their mother who loved Quidditch but didn't think it was the end all be all. It was her stable side that kept her away from the countless Weasleys while she was at school. She'd been friends with them, in passive sort of way. They didn't bother her but they didn't ignore her either. It was the perfect balance.

Too bad Stephen hadn't learned from his sister's example. He was up to his elbows in Weasleys all because he'd fallen for one. For some reason to be involved with that family meant that drama dogged your every step. All he wanted to do was make Rose smile however she wanted him to do that. But no! Her father had to lose his freaking mind and pay his nephews to stalk him. So now the only way that they can be together is by hiding it from the rest of her family. And the only way to hide it from her family was to hide it from everyone.

Stephen was having a hard time with the last part. He was just so happy being with her, but he had to appear single and at all interesting in mingling. That drew attention making all his mates and his family think that he still wasn't over Rose. Which he wasn't but not for the reason they all thought. They thought he needed to move on, he needed to meet someone new, he needed to get laid. Stephen was inclined to agree with the last bit but only with Rose and she was only sixteen and he wasn't enough of jackass to even ask her about it. Soon she'd be of age and he wouldn't feel like such a pervert for wanting her.

Stephen just couldn't help feeling like if he had someone on his side that his situation would be easier to handle. He had another year and half before he and Rose could be together the way they should be. They'd decided over Winter Break that once she graduated they would let the cat out of the bag, sort of. Rose didn't want to hurt her family's feelings by letting them know she'd kept her relationship a secret. Apparently when her parents found out that her brother was hiding his relationship her mother had cried for a few hours and her father didn't look too happy either.

They planned on lying and saying they got back together at her graduation, which Stephen would attend. They'd find some alone time after the ceremony and make it seem like they were hashing out their differences and that night Rose would tell her family they were getting back together. It sounded simple and Stephen hoped like hell it would be simple. He'd just have to wait and see though. Until then he needed to somehow avoid the dates (landmines) his family and friends were setting for him.

Last night he'd thought he was meeting his father at a pub but instead he found an old family friend. A female family friend. The daughter of one of his father's teammates. He'd hung out with her for two hours, catching up he'd thought, when he wondered out loud where his father was. She'd been confused because apparently she was under the impression that this was a date. Stephen politely corrected her and they'd had a laugh over the whole thing. He'd spent a few more minutes with her, but quickly began feeling guilty. He was Rose's boyfriend. Though he had to admit he'd had a good time and that it would be easier to be someone else's boyfriend. And then that made him feel guilt.

He needed some help which was why he was here, at his sister's flat. If anyone could keep a secret it was Bonnie Wood. His big sister, who had just sprayed her perfume in his hair.

Stephen pulled away, ran his fingers through his stinking locks and smelled his hand. Flowery and fruity and nauseating.

"Thanks, Bonnie," he muttered darkly.

"You're welcome, you surly git," she said.

"This is disgusting, Bon. How could wear this crap?"

"I don't," she admitted. "I save it for bad dates and brothers who bug me."

"I guess I'm just special, then." Stephen flopped back onto her bed, grabbed her pillow rubbed his head on it. Bonnie screech and pulled her pillow away from her brother.

"Bloody hell you're an ass!" She pulled out her wand and cleaned her pillow and Stephen's hair before throwing the pillow his head. He caught it, of course. Thank you Quidditch reflex. "You never used to be such an ass. You need a girl, mate."

Stephen sighed. "That's why I'm here, Bonnie."

"You want me to set you up with one of my friends!" she squealed happily. She jumped onto the bed next to him. "Jenny's been asking about you ever since you graduated! But maybe you'd be better with Mary. She likes Quidditch more than Jenny. Or there's Donna-"

"No, Bonnie!" Stephen interrupted her. "I don't want you to set me up. I've already got enough of that from Mum and Dad and all my mates. I don't need it from you too."

"I don't understand, Stephen," she said, crossing her arms. "You've been broken up with that Weasley for nearly a year."

"Not exactly," Stephen admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Last summer I wrote Rose a letter-"

"You wrote her a million letters last summer!"

"This one was different. I told her the truth."

"Which is?"

"That I'm mad about her. I still want to be with her and that'll deal with her manic family if means I get to be with her."

Bonnie took this exactly as he expected she would. "Awww!" She threw her arms around Stephen's neck and grabbed his cheeks. "Who knew my baby brother was such a romantic! And here I was thinking you only had Quidditch on the brain."

"Stop flattering me, Bonnie," he snapped. "I might yax."

"Sorry for being surprised," she said, leaning back against the headboard. "You're more like Dad then Mum. His idea of a romantic statement is telling her she reminds him of the perfect save."

They both laughed and then sighed because they knew it was true.

"So, what did she say to your very un-dad-like declaration?" Bonnie asked.

"She said she felt the same, but we decided that until she graduates at least, the only way we can be together is if none of her family knows about us."

Bonnie stared at her brother for a second. "The only way you'd be able to keep something for the Weasley family is by keeping it from everybody," she said.

"Exactly."

She thought for a second. Stephen saw the moment she realized what was going on. "You haven't been broken up then?"

"Not since summer."

"Stephen!"

"What was I suppose to do?" he demanded. "I'm miserable without her. At least this way I get to tell her how much I adore her and whenever we can swing alone time together I get to kiss her."

"That sounds like it sucks," Bonnie said.

"Not as much as it would if I wasn't with her at all," Stephen said.

"Oh, baby brother," she cooed. "If you need to keep it a secret, why are you telling me?"

"Dad set me up last night."

"With a broomstick?"

"Oh ha ha bloody ha. He set me up with the daughter of one of his teammates," Stephen said.

"So, someone with the I.Q. of a broomstick?"

"She was nice and I was having a good time until I realized Dad had tricked me into it! I couldn't stay after that!"

"Why not?"

"It felt like I was cheating on Rose."

"I'm sorry, Stephen," Bonnie said. "But what can I do?"

"I need you to, like run interference. No one believes me when I say I'm all right but not interested in dating. Maybe they'll believe _you_."

"It's worth a shot, but you owe me!"

"Whatever, so long as you do it."

"Anything for you, little brother." Bonnie grabbed Stephen's face and kissed him soundly on the cheek. "We're family! It's what I'm here for!"

* * *

Scorpius straightened his robes and hoped that he looked like he hadn't just dragged his girlfriend into a broom closet. She'd scurried out ahead of him, her pretty little bum swaying back and forth as she skipped down the hall happy as can be. He'd made sure of that, at least.

She didn't need to be burdened with his insecurities. It was just making her unhappy and as her boyfriend it was his job to make sure she was happy. He had no business making her cry into his jumper. And from here on out, until she realized how wrong for her he was, he'd do his damnedest to make her smile so much her cheeks hurt.

This new resolution didn't do much to make him feel any more secure his current… life. He still got a letter from his Mum everyday begging him to just do what his father wanted. He still got about a Howler a week from his grandfather. He was still being completely ignored by most of his Housemates. He was still terrified that everything that was his father and his grandfather and his Death Eater relatives was lurking somewhere inside of him just waiting for him to get pissed off enough for it to just burst out of him. And he just hex or curse the first person he came across which would probably be Lily.

He was still certain they were doomed. And though Lily had been gently but firmly attempting to push their boundaries closer and closer to the point of no return, Scorpius had somehow managed to keep her a virgin. Because when they inevitably imploded he wasn't going to leave the Potter house with the youngest Potters' virginity. The way she was rubbing against him mere moments ago… Scorpius looked down at himself… it was hard to say the least.

Scorpius blew out a frustrated breath. He had Potions in a few minutes but there was no way he could walk into the dungeon class room in the state he was in. Or rather, the state Lily had left him in. He glanced down the hall. Lily was surrounded by her friends chatting and laughing. As if sensing his eyes on her, she turned towards him and smiled. Her friends caught this and giggled as they pulled her out of sight. Scorpius pulled his robes over his trousers and made for the Entrance Hall. He lost himself in a group of fifth years going to Care of Magical Creatures as he made his way down towards the Forbidden Forest.

Most students avoided the forest, taking its name to heart, but Scorpius always found it to be a nice quiet place to think. The library used to be his favorite quiet place to think, but these days it was crawling with Weasleys and Potters who all wanted his input on their teenage dramas. Scorpius had enough of that himself, thank you very much, he didn't need to be drawn into other peoples drama.

He pulled away from the other students and disappeared between the trees. He set a quick pace hoping to get his blood flowing enough that he didn't notice how cold it was. As he power walked through the forest he tried not thinking about how wonderful it would be for his life to turn out like Andromeda's (minus the dead spouse and child, of course). It would be too fabulous to marry Lily, have children with her and grow old together. But his family was haunting him more than usual lately. Apparently his parents were trying for another child. They were only in their early forties and as purebloods there was no telling how long they'd live. His grandfather had suggested it (big surprise) and his father agreed (of course). Soon he'd have a younger brother or sister looking down on him as he or she grew up. His mother wouldn't fight his father, she'd buckle immediately and just do whatever he wanted. Honestly, Scorpius couldn't remember when his mother had become such a cow-

"Oww!"

Scorpius, too lost in his thoughts to pay attention to the roots littering the forest floor, tripped and stumbled forward. His hands caught him at the last second. His right palm landed on something hard.

"Shit, shit, shit," he muttered grabbing the offending stone, intent on throwing it as hard as he could at a tree. You know, for revenge.

When he finally looked at the rock, it wasn't a rock at all. It was hideously ugly ring with a giant black stone in it. The stone was cracked down the center making it hard to see what was engraved in the surface. Scorpius got to his feet, dusted himself off and made for a ray of sunlight that had broken through the canopy. He held the ring in the sunlight. It was a crest of some sort. He wasn't familiar with it but had all kinds of snakes in it.

Scorpius snorted. Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom pulled the sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and he fell on his face in the Forbidden Forest and finds a ring with Slytherin written all over it. Scorpius threw the ring up and caught it again as he walked over to a fallen log and sat down. He absentmindedly twirled the ring in his hand as he thought about how unfair life was, the only person who really knew what he was going through at the moment was dead.

Talking to Andromeda hadn't helped much. She'd been encouraging him to follow his own path for months, but she'd been an adult when her family disowned her. It was much different being a kid… If only he could talk to Sirius Black. He'd been disowned just like Scorpius. If anyone knew what it was like being banished by your own family it was Sirius Black.

"Looking a little glum there, kid." Scorpius' head shot up. Standing in front of him was Sirius Black- er sort of. He looked barely corporal, leaving no doubt in Scorpius' mind that he was as dead now as he'd been seconds before. That didn't stop Scorpius wondering where in the hell he'd come from and why he was _here_ instead of _there_. "Family giving you trouble?"

"Whaa…? Where…?" Scorpius asked, wide eyed.

Sirius nodded at the ring hanging limply off of one of Scorpius' fingers. "Know anything about the Deathly Hallows?"

"This stone is that stone!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"One and the same," Sirius said, sitting down next to his nephew of sorts. "So, what am I doing here? Oh! Are you writing my biography? The title should be something along the lines of… A Marauder's Life: A Story of Heroics, Mischief Making and What it Truly Means to be Sirius Orion Black III." Sirius nodded as Scorpius realized that the dead had way too much time on their hands.

"I'll be sure to do that as soon as I graduate," Scorpius said, giving his relative an odd look.

"Oh, well keep a hand on that stone, then," Sirius said. "I've got plenty to say about my life! But don't Summon James or Remus! They'll just lie about me. Call me arrogant!" Sirius scoffed. "As if."

"I'll keep that in mind," Scorpius said, still completely freaked out. This was not what he was expecting from the man he'd identified with for nearly his whole school career. He'd expected some one well… more like himself. But from what he'd witnessed Sirius Black was a lot like James Potter (the living James Potter (but perhaps he was like the dead James Potter, Scorpius didn't know)). Carefree and far too arrogant for his own good. Then again he was dead. Scorpius supposed he could be however he liked now.

"If you're not writing my biography at the moment," Sirius said. "Why'd you call me here?"

"I didn't do it on purpose," Scorpius said, defensive. "But you had it right the first time."

Sirius sighed. "All right, Scorpius. I'm going to let you in a little secret… most of the time being dead is boring. Yeah, James and Remus are there but half the time they're off with their _wives_. Most of the time a single bloke hasn't much to do… except console those poor souls that died virgins," Sirius wiggled his eyebrows and Scorpius' eyes went wide. "Besides that, we watch the living. Ha! Harry reminds me a lot of his grandparents. Collecting all you lost puppies. Kira and you." Sirius smiled indulgently.

Scorpius was about to open his mouth and correct him about Kira, but Sirius didn't give him a chance. "There are lots of ways for a parent to abandon their child, Scorpius," he continued. "Sometimes they don't have a choice. Like with James and Remus. They never wanted to leave their boys, but they weren't exactly given an option about it. Kira's parents on the other hand had far too many children and when Kira wanted to spend all her time with James, they never fought her on it. While both parties were willing, it doesn't change the fact Harry and Ginny have raised that girl since she was eleven. And then there is what happened to you and I.

"We both grew up with a rebellious disposition, not really wanting to believe the crap our parents shoved down our throats. Being sorted into Gryffindor was enough to change things for me. Being friends with the Potters was enough to change things for you. It starts to suck pretty much immediately, as I'm sure you've noticed. Just because you're willing to open your eyes to a new way of thinking doesn't mean that your parents are. I got back from school after my fourth year and my mother gave me an ultimatum. Start acting like a Black and drop all your mates or leave the house. She locked me in my room to think about it. As if there was anything to even consider. I grabbed my truck and my broom and jumped out the window. I lived with James until the summer before my seventh year when I got a flat.

"And while it's worked out for Harry and Teddy and Kira and we know it wasn't their fault. Most of the time when a child is abandoned by their parents it's not their fault, that doesn't change the fact that each and every child blames themselves for it. Harry and Teddy will never admit it, which is good because I don't need their soppy tosser fathers fretting over dying, to an extent they blame themselves for it happening. Kira can't help blaming herself. Thinking, 'if only I'd been a better daughter, then maybe they wouldn't have been so willing to let me go.' And then there's me and you. And we both know it's our fault. Our parents gave us a choice and we chose.

"Now listen carefully, Scorpius, because I'm finally getting to the point. Just because it's your fault that your parents abandoned you, it doesn't make you wrong. They made a choice the same way you did, only they chose to love you based on your ability to do as your told and not on who you are. James and Albus are your friends because you're an awesome guy. Lily loves you because of who you are. Not a one of them could care less about your name! And that's all your parents can focus on. Since that's the case, since they can't love you for the person you are not the person they want you to be, Scorpius, you have to decide that they aren't your family anymore. You have to build a new family around the Potters and the Weasleys. And I know what you're thinking! After everything your family did to theirs there is no way that they'd welcome you. But Scorpius, that's the reason they will."

Scorpius attempted to absorb this and then gave up. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Wait, all of it or-"

"No, just the last bit."

"Right! Harry saved Draco's life mere moments after Draco tried to kill him. Why did he do that?" Sirius asked.

"Because Harry's the bigger man."

"Well, yes, but Harry is also the better man. Harry hasn't realistically thought for a second about lashing out in violence against Draco, no matter how much he deserved it. He stopped Remus and I from killing Pettigrew because he is not the revenge sort and he can't imagine anyone around him becoming that sort of person. Harry and the Weasleys won't hold your name against you because they're not those kinds of people. They're not like… our family. They're better. You made the right choice throwing in your lot with them. If you let it happen, it'll make you happier that's for sure."

"I'm afraid," Scorpius admitted.

"Of?"

"Becoming like them."

Sirius didn't bother asking which 'them' Scorpius was referring to. "We all have badness in us, Scorpius. I almost got Severus Snape killed because of mine. We've been given far too many bad ideas from our family to ever think that we're just normal good people. But there is good in us too. And we're lucky because we have far more good in us than bad." Sirius gave a humorless laugh. "I met a Muggle girl not long after I died and she told me something I wish I'd heard while I was alive. She said, 'God never gives us more then we can handle. When you pray to God for strength does he give you moral fortitude or does he give the opportunity to be strong?' She made it sound like life was just one big test to see if you've got what it takes to be just what God knew you could be. Like life is just one big 'what if?' and you've got to decide which 'what if' you're life is going to be."

"Was she one of the poor souls to die a virgin?" Scorpius asked with a smile, the first genuine smile he'd worn in days.

"Mind out of the gutter, young man," Sirius attempting (and failing) to look serious. "And yes."

Scorpius snorted. "I suppose she isn't anymore?"

"Good gracious, what James will think? You dating his granddaughter and everything!" One of Sirius' eyebrows went up and a slow smirk stretched across his face. "I suppose the littlest Lily won't be a virgin much long, eh?"

"Not if she has it her way," Scorpius muttered, going beet red.

"That's the way it is with those Potters. They know what or who they want and they have no trouble just going and getting it. Do you need any advice about that? I'm rather well learned in that field," Sirius chuckled.

"Sod off," Scorpius laughed.

"I can't. Not until you let go of that stone."

Scorpius' hand squeezed around the ring, compulsively.

"Do… do you want to leave?" He tried to sound casual, but… it was just so nice. Like having a real father.

"Don't worry about it, mate. The stone only becomes troublesome when you're trying to live with the dead. But the dead don't belong with the living."

"What about Professor Binns and-"

"I think that Professor Binns is a perfect example of why the dead don't belong with the living. As for other ghosts. They're only around because life wasn't all it was cracked up to be and they couldn't let it go."

"But you could?" Scorpius almost wished that he couldn't. That he wanted to stay among the living.

"How about this? See how your life works when you actually accept the Potters and the Weasleys as your family. See how you feel after you give Lily what she so desperately wants. See how happy you are then. And think if you really want some dead bloke hanging around. After that the only time you need Summon me is when you write my biography. The Auror department has all sorts of files on me, I'm sure that they make me sound like a total bad ass. Take a look at those when you're an Auror and use them."

Sirius' ghostly and oddly solid hand landed on top of Scorpius' that was still gripping the stone tightly.

"If you ever need another chat, just turn it in your hands a few times and think of me and I'll be here."

"Promise?" Scorpius whispered.

"Promise. Now let it go."

The ring dropped from Scorpius' hand and Sirius vanished.


	23. Rocket Man

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read and review the last chapter! I was really proud of it. The title is an allusion to the David Bowie song "Rocket Man." It's a great song, look it up it actually has something to do with the chapter below. Albus and Hugo certainly aren't the men they think they are at home! They're Rocket Men! Hope you guys like this one!**

**Chapter Twenty Three**

Rocket Man

Persephone Lovelace bit her lip and smiled coyly at Albus from across the library. Two weeks ago the vain, shallow sixth year Gryffindor had approached him in the hallway during his Prefect rounds. She wasn't a Prefect and she certainly should have been in Gryffindor Tower, but after few minutes (of heated snogging) she managed to convince him to let her go without a detention.

Albus fully expected their interaction to end there.

They ran in totally different circles. He was barely considered cool and that was only because of his brother. But Persephone _was_ cool in some indiscernible way. She did her homework, but never studied the way Albus did. She spent her free time talking with her friends, reading Witch Weekly and going to Quidditch games. None of it made her unique, none of it was particularly cool on its own and Albus was sure that if anyone else was doing it, it wouldn't be as cool.

But Persephone Lovelace had that air about her. That cool confidence that just had people flocking to her. All she had to do was flip her white blond hair over her shoulder, smile revealing her straight porcelain teeth and wink one of her hazel eyes and any bloke she wanted was at her beck and call. Albus knew because two weeks ago she'd done the same thing to him.

The next day as Albus walked down the hall for lunch, feeling slightly guilty that he'd let a girl out of a detention just because she snogged him, Persephone pulled him into a broom closet and let him know that she couldn't careless that she'd had to use her considerable snogging skills to get out of writing lines. Oh no Persephone wasn't upset at all. She'd kissed the breath out of him, pulled his robes off, hiked her leg over his hip and tangled her fingers in his hair. She pressed her slender body so close to Albus he'd had no choice but hold on for dear life and wonder when the ability to think coherently would return.

(Not until lunch was over and Persephone finally flounced out of the broom closet leaving Albus to put his robes back on and try to gain control over the desire running rampant through his system, apparently.)

Persephone wasn't a modest girl. She wasn't shy or reserved. She wasn't anything like Daisy. And as much as Albus thought he liked Daisy he knew he liked that Persephone was nothing like Daisy. But he honestly couldn't say that he liked Persephone. Sure she was nice enough that people didn't hate her, but over the last two weeks the only time they'd spoken all she wanted to do was gossip.

So when she winked at him from across the library and did that sexy as shit crook of her finger telling him 'get his cute ass over here' Albus knew she didn't want to talk to him. Which was good because he didn't want to talk to her either. What wasn't good, though was the knowing look on his brother's face. Like most Gryffindor girls at one time Persephone had "dated" James. (Kira was the only girl to ever realistically date James Sirius Potter. Most girls got asked out, snogged in some deplorably public place and then unceremoniously dropped as soon as the rumor she was pregnant with/married to/soul mate of James Sirius Potter faded.)

Albus refused to be ashamed of his… interaction with Persephone. All he wanted was a girl to snog in between studying and fortunately all Persephone wanted was a bloke to snog in between articles on how to charm her hair into new styles. It was the perfect arrangement for both of them because it meant that at most all they had to say to each other was "Hi" (which suited Albus because that was about all they had in common).

"Don't you dare judge me, James," Albus snapped, closing his books.

"I'm not judging you!" James said holding his hands up in mock innocence. "Who's judging you? Scorpius? Are you judging him?"

"Not verbally," Scorpius muttered. "Some of us have class."

"Class ended hours ago, Scorpius," James said.

"I wasn't talking about that kind of class."

"Then what- Bloody hell, Scorpius! We were talking about Albus and the girl eye shagging him from across the library. Persephone Lovelace, Albus? Really?"

"Like you have any right to talk," Albus growled. "You dated her-" James opened his mouth to respond "-and all of her friend."

"Bah!"

"I think the point James is trying to make is that you usually don't go for the kind of girl that Persephone is," Scorpius said.

"And what kind of girl is that?"

"The kind of girl that laughs when I start a rumor that I knocked her up," James said.

"So she has a sense of humor?" Albus gave a humorless laugh. "That makes her all kinds of wrong for me."

"She's just nothing like…" James began, but didn't finish.

"Nothing like… Daisy? Did you ever think that that might be why I like her so much?"

"You don't like her," James said.

"How do you know that?"

"Because _no one_ likes Persephone Lovelace expect for people who are exactly like Persephone Lovelace, i.e. all of her vapid friends."

"Oh whatever." Albus dumped his supplies into his bag and pulled the strap over his shoulder.

"You'll regret this, Al," James said.

Albus leaned down on the table. "I dated the girl that I supposedly had a lot in common with and look where that got me. All Persephone wants is for me to snog her and grab her bum, both of which I can do."

"Look, Al."

"Why should I listen to you?" Albus asked. "Last I checked Kira wasn't speaking to you." James clenched his jaw.

"Fine," he snapped. "Don't listen to me. Listen to Scorpius, though. Lily couldn't be happier he's bound to be doing something right."

"All right, Scorpius. What _exactly_ are you doing to my _sister_ that's got her so happy?"

Scorpius' eyes bulged and he slowly began turning slightly purple.

"Okay," James said, slowly. "Never mind that."

"If you two are done judging me…" Albus walked towards Persephone whose sly grin got bigger with every step he took towards her.

"But we're not done!" James yelled at his brother's retreating back.

Albus ignored him and stopped next to Persephone's table. Her friends were all giggling, while she smiled up at him. "Hi," he said, holding his hand out.

"Hi," she said. She took his hand, slung her bag over her shoulder and followed him out of the library. They barely made it to the broom closet before she attacked him. With kisses. Persephone's too much of a loud mouth to have any secret plans (or secrets period) of hurting the bloke she's snogging.

Albus returned her kisses with enthusiasm, glad to have something else to do besides look at his forlorn brother and his sister slap happy boyfriend while they judged him for just having a good time.

* * *

It was the middle of the afternoon and Hugo Weasley was supposed to be in Charms. He wasn't in Charms. He was in his dorm, sitting on his bed with the curtains closed. His wand was clenched tightly in one hand while the other sifted through the loads of Muggle photographs he had of Ruby. Moving photos freaked her out, so for one of their anniversaries she'd gotten him a Muggle camera. It was a pretty fancy contraption, but he didn't really know how to do anything but take pictures with it. Ruby would do whatever was necessary to get the pictures off the camera and onto paper.

He brought his wand closer to eerily still picture, taking in Ruby's flowing blonde locks and cheeky smile. He remembered when this photograph had been taken. It was the day that his mother had found his cellular phone. They had been holed up in her room, snogging and taking pictures of each other. He was usually so anal about his cellular telephone that it never occurred to him that he might have left the impossibly small piece of plastic in his room.

He'd returned home that night to his Mum crying, his father turning a lovely shade of purple and his sister looking slightly panicked. His parents had ranted and raged and demanded to know exactly what he'd told Ruby about his parentage. In the end, after much discussion with Uncle Harry, but mostly because of Albus, Hugo was permitted to stay with Ruby. His parents even let him keep his cellular telephone, saying it would look too odd to the Muggles if he wasn't allowed that bit of technology while away at "some little known boarding school in Scotland" (which is what he told his parents he told Ruby).

It was bad enough that he'd spent that last few years lying through his teeth to his parents about his relationship with Ruby, now he was lying about what he'd told Ruby. Ever since that terrible day their relationship was under near constant supervision. It had gotten to the point where he'd hidden messages in his letters. They seemed innocent enough to the outside observer or his mother who was no doubt reading his letters. Nowadays he had to owl all his letters home (for inspection, not that his parents would ever admit they were reading his mail) and then his mother or father would slip the letters into Ruby's mailbox. Ruby would respond by mailing letters to his house and (after inspection) his mother or father would owl them to him.

He'd told his parents that in the past he'd had his owl drop his letters to Ruby in a Muggle postbox and pick up her response from the postbox near her house. It'd seemed plausible enough and they had bought it.

What really sucked about this situation was that Hugo had just figured out what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He wanted to be an Auror just like his father. He felt guilty because he knew he'd get into the class and he knew that his father would help him get through it and he knew he'd be doing all of this while breaking the law. A law he was going to be learning to help uphold. It also sucked that now he'd have to fake telling Ruby the truth after he graduated. If they didn't time it just right and act it out convincingly they were screwed.

He doubted that his parents would drag him through the legal mud, but he would be up shit creek without a paddle. They'd probably Obliviate Ruby and make sure that Hugo never got to be an Auror since apparently he can't abide by the laws he's supposed to be enforcing.

It had gone from an all around cruddy situation to a really, really, really crappy dangerous one. He'd gone from hiding his love for Ruby like the lost jewels of Atlantis to having watch every damn thing he said about her. It wasn't as bad as it was when his parents first found out. Back then it was almost like they were constantly trying to trick him, to catch him in a lie. Now that things were more relaxed he had to be more paranoid than ever. As soon as he let his guard down he would mess up and let something slip and everything he'd done, every lie he'd told would be for nothing. He'd lose what was left of his parents' trust and pretty much be screwed for life.

He honestly didn't know how he'd gotten himself into such a sucky situation.

Hugo looked down at the picture in his hand. Ruby, splayed out on her bed. Her white blonde hair fanned out around her delicately beautiful face. She was looking up at the camera with so much love in her eyes that Hugo's chest actually hurt.

That was how. That look on her face was how he'd willingly and knowingly gotten himself into this situation. He'd do anything for her. Even spend the rest of his life lying to his family to protect her. At the end of the day it was worth it. She was worth it.

Hugo sighed and pulled the picture to his chest, hugging it and wishing that he was hugging her instead.

Suddenly the curtains were pulled back, blinding Hugo for a moment. When the ability to see returned he noticed his cousin standing by the side of his bed wide eyed and pale.

"Al?" Hugo asked, startled by the older boy's appearance. "Are you all right?"

The more Hugo looked at Albus the clearer it became that his cousin was a lot of things but all right was not among them. Albus' cloths were a mess. His vest and tie were missing, his shirt half unbuttoned, his belt unbuckled and hanging limply around his hips and his fly was down. Albus' hair was even more of a mess then it usually was and his glasses were lopsided.

The term "well and thoroughly shagged" floated through Hugo's head as he took in his cousin.

"I think I just sex with Persephone Lovelace," Albus said, confirming what Hugo had assumed.

"H-?"

"I didn't plan on it!" Albus said, still wide eyed. "I didn't go into the broom closet hoping to shag her! That wasn't what was supposed to happen…"

"What was-?"

"She was supposed to snog me into a tizzy and then I'd skip Transfiguration to take care of it!" Albus ran his hand through his hair. "I don't even know how it happened."

"Did you use-?"

"The Charm?" Hugo nodded. "Yeah, she knew it. She also knew one to prevent… you know… diseases… How would she know that? Why would she know that?"

"Because she's Persephone-"

"Oh, don't you start in on her!" Albus yelled. "Persephone is a nice girl."

"Yeah, a nice girl who shagged you in a broom closet," Hugo pointed out. Albus sighed and sat on the edge of Hugo's bed, his back to his cousin.

"What am I going to do? I barely liked Persephone before she shagged me and I can tell you, Hugo, I don't like her anymore now. She's vain and shallow and all she likes talking about is gossip and Quidditch… but now I have to stay with her," Albus said, horrified.

"Why?"

"Because she shagged me, Hugo! I can't drop her right after she shagged me! My parents raised me to be respectful to girls and I've already screwed with Persephone enough. Letting her snog her way out of a detention and then two bloody weeks later shag me in broom closet. I yelled at James for shagging Kira in the upstairs linen closet last summer and now I've gone and done him one better! Or worse depending… A broom closet. A bloody fucking broom closet!"

"Al, you need to settle down," Hugo said.

"How can I settle down, Hugo?" Albus asked, turning on his cousin. "I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't just lose my virginity to lose it. I wanted to do it with someone important to me, someone I actually cared about and perhaps had something in common with. And what did I do? I followed a girl who is about a deep as a spill on the floor and ten times less interesting into a broom closet. She pushed me on the floor, pulled my clothes off and mounted me like broomstick. And not only did I _rise_ to the occasion, I bloody well enjoyed myself! She's got her tongue in my mouth, her breasts in my hands and her… and all I can think about is how good it bloody feels. And then she pulls her knickers up, kisses me and trots off to class without a care in the world! Leaving me to right myself and figure out what the bloody hell I'm supposed to do now… Ohhh, I'm such a bloody tosser!" Albus moaned.

"Why?" Hugo asked.

"What d'you mean, why?"

"It sounds like she was, you know, the one in charge. It's not like you took advantage of her."

"But… what should I do now?"

"Enjoy the shit out of it while you can," Hugo suggested. Albus looked uncomfortable. "It's not like you can undo what's already been done."

"Have you and Ruby…?"

"No," Hugo said, uncomfortable and suddenly on edge. "Ruby's very… practical. She doesn't want to do anything and make a mistake before we're both of age with jobs."

"Smart girl."

Hugo looked down at the pictures all over his bed. "You have no idea."


	24. Playing for Keeps

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I needed to do it right and it took some thinking. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

**Chapter Twenty Four**

Playing for Keeps

Kira liked to think of herself as a reasonable girl. Of course, at the end of the day she is a girl which meant that every once and a while (i.e. for five days every month) she was about as unreasonable as a person could be. Right now she was running through the hallway dodging all the Weasleys that tried to stop her. She didn't know why they wanted to stop her, but she assumed it had to do with how miserable James was.

Not a one of them thought that she might be responsible for their cousin's melancholy. But she knew. And she felt just about as guilty as was physically possible. James had a tendency not to think much before he talked when he was upset and Kira was certain that he hadn't meant to hurt her by saying what he did. Unfortunately knowing that didn't make her feel any better about it. His words still stung.

She had to deal with her parents not… parenting her everyday of her life. Sometimes seeing how much the Potters took care of their children just hurt. Her chest felt tight and often times when she saw Mrs. Potter hugging Lily or Mr. Potter wrapping a supportive arm around one of his sons she just wanted to cry. She hadn't seen her parents in person since Christmas her first year. Floo didn't count and it was the closest she'd gotten to her family in six and half years.

James didn't understand. How could he? His family was so close that he couldn't sneeze without every one of his relatives hearing about it or witnessing it. They all had their fingers in each other's business and ever since Kira had plastered herself to James' side his family had had their fingers in hers. For the longest time it was nice. Someone (lots of someones actually) cared what happened to her. If she was hurt she had tons of shoulders to cry on. When she succeeded she had tons of people to pat her on the back, she even got masses of letters from this Weasley or that Potter saying how proud everyone was of her. When she got caught breaking a rule she got angry letters from everyone it seemed, except for her parents.

She wasn't sure when her parents extracted themselves from her life, but she felt it more acutely with every kind, parental gesture she received from the Weasleys and Potters. On any given day Mr. and Mrs. Potter took a more active parental interest in her life then her own parents.

How was she supposed to come to terms with that? How was she supposed to deal with that? How was she supposed to figure out how to fix things between her and the love of her life while every Weasley/Potter in the known universe was breathing down her neck!

Kira ducked into Moaning Myrtle's loo and let out a contented sigh. Peace and quiet at last.

"Hey, Kira."

Kira jumped out of her skin and let out a squeal.

"That was embarrassing." Kira spun around to face Rose Weasley who was doing her make up in one of the cracked mirrors.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"The same thing you're doing here, I expect," Rose said, applying a thin layer of lip gloss. "Avoiding the family."

"Why would I avoid your family?" Kira asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Rose said, sarcastically. "Maybe because our family has no concept of personal space or perhaps the need to spend time alone? They're invasive, like a germ."

"Lovely," Kira mumbled. The two of them spent several minutes in silence. Kira wondered towards the tall windows at the back of the waterlogged loo, while Rose began primping her hair. "How good are you at keeping a secret?" Kira asked.

"Keeping my own secrets has been my job for almost a year. I can't imagine it'd be much more difficult keeping someone else's."

"I haven't seen my parents or any member of my family in almost seven years," Kira admitted.

Rose stopped primping and caught Kira's eye through the mirror in front of her. "Why?"

"It's not like we're not in contact with one another. We send letters and use the Floo, but… with all my siblings I just don't want to feel like a burden to my parents and it's just been so much easier on everyone to live with the Potters. And damn it! James just doesn't get it!"

"Of course he doesn't, Kira," Rose said. "He's never had to deal with something like this before. Plus he's not exactly the 'think before he talks' sort of bloke. Whatever he said, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."

"Which does nothing to make me feel better. Plus I've been ignoring him since we got back from break and even though I know just telling him I'm sorry would put everything to rights I just can't bring myself to do it."

Rose pulled her wand from behind her ear, flicked it at the mess of products on the sink, sending them all back into the overpriced makeup bag she got for Christmas. Rose took a deep breath and turned to Kira. "You've trusted me with a secret. So I'm going to trust you with one. One that you can't tell anyone! Not even James!"

"Okay." Kira crossed her arms and leaned against one of the stalls.

"Right before I idiotically dropped Stephen, I spent a few weeks ignoring him and the problem. All it did was make both of us miserable and more susceptible to my asinine logic. Luckily for both of us, Stephen managed to put me to right." Kira opened her mouth to ask the obvious question. "The only reason my relationship with Stephen works is because no one knows there is a relationship. I actually got the idea from Hugo. Hopefully when Mum and Dad find out, it won't be nearly as devastating…" Kira stared at Rose wide eyed, but didn't say anything. If anything it'd be more devastating when the news broke about Rose and Stephen.

"The real problem was that I didn't talk to Stephen about the issues I was having. If I had we might have never broken up in first place and all this sneaking around wouldn't be necessary. Maybe you should just talk to him about how you're feeling with your family. As cliché as it sounds, communication is the key."

Rose tucked her makeup bag under her arm and said, "Trust me, talking to him will make it all better." She headed for the door and then turned back. "And remember, don't breath a word about Stephan and me."

Kira slid down the side of the cubical and groaned when her bottom hit the floor. She'd sat in puddle.

* * *

James was in trouble. He honestly couldn't say what inspired him to listen to Peeves. The pesky ghost… spirit… whatever! had convinced him (hadn't taken much really) to prank the Headmistress. A sort of "this is your seventh year, why not go out with a bang?" prank that would have him remembered fondly by mischief makers to come. If, of course, this prank didn't get him expelled. That was a damn big if considering the fact that he was hovering over the entrance to the Great Hall on his broom holding a giant tub of Flubber Worms with Peeves cackling in the corner.

"I am so screwed," James mumbled.

Truth be told James didn't want to be hovering over the Great Hall with a tub of Flubber Worms but without Kira's calming influence on his irrational mischievous side he was likely to be expelled by the end of the week. If, in a few minutes, he wasn't expelled for dumping a tub of Flobber Worms on the Headmistress. It was too late. Headmistress McGonagall was heading his way and hadn't a chance of seeing him due to his father's Invisibility Cloak. Thankfully for James (and Professor McGonagall) gravity finally had its way with him. The tub of Flubber Worms, which he had been holding for a good half hour, grew unbearably heavy causing James to lean backwards and tip over the back of his broom. He fell to the floor at the feet of McGonagall with a SMACK! closely followed by SPLAT! as the tub fell up ended directly onto James' head. The very crowded Entrance Hall was strangely quiet.

It was quite a sight, to be sure. Harry Potter's oldest son lying at the feet of the Headmistress covered in slime and worm. Fortunately this was not the most humiliating situation James had ever gotten himself into and on the bright side he probably wouldn't be expelled for dropping a tub of Flubber Worms on himself. He'd probably get a detention though, for the mess. Well, life wasn't without its trade offs.

James stood up and pulled the tub off his head as people started laughing. Playing to the crowd James grinned and waved. James had always felt it was better to be proud then ashamed.

With a flick of her wand, McGonagall had the Entrance Hall and James clean. "Oh," James said, surprised. "Thanks, Professor."

"Believe you, me, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall snapped. "It wasn't for your sake but for the chairs in my office."

James grimaced, but followed her down the hall to her office with the snickering of his classmates at his back. James settled himself in the chair before the Headmistress' desk. McGonagall glared at him over her glasses. James attempted to do the same but the world was so unclear when not seen through his glasses that he wasn't sure if he was glaring at her or her owl. That took a lot of the heat out of him.

"So…" James said. "What'll it be this time? Lines, cleaning the trophy room, walking through the forest with Hagrid?"

"I should think not, Mr. Potter," the Headmistress said. "None of those activities have worked in the past, so I can't see them working now."

"So, you're letting me off the hook?" An excited glint appeared in James' eye.

"No. No, Mr. Potter, I'm going to try to teach you an actual lesson… How much do you know about your namesake, James?"

James' forehead wrinkled. He'd never really thought much about his paternal grandparents. So, he sprouted what he did know of his grandfather. "He married my grandmother Lily, fought Tom Riddle and died to save my dad."

McGonagall waited almost expecting more. "Anything else?" James shook his head. "A lot came before that, James. When I first met you, when you were only a baby and your father told me what you had been named, I knew you had been named appropriately." James wasn't sure whether or not to be insulted. "Your grandfather came to Hogwarts with a bang. There was no question that he would be sorted into Gryffindor. He drew people to him like a magnet. Quickly connecting with three of his peers-"

"Remus, Sirius and…" James said, he knew this bit. Hadn't a clue who the third was though.

"Yes, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. They called themselves the Marauders. The mischief makers of Hogwarts."

"So that's how we're alike-"

"Hush!" McGonagall snapped. "Initially James allocated his attention to any girl, but that changed in his third year. He focused all his attention on Lily Evans, your grandmother. She was a redhead with your brother's green eyes. It didn't go… well at first. She despised him but he wouldn't give up on her. He pranked and hexed people to get her attention which of course never worked. Now eventually they overcame their differences and managed to work something out, but only after James stopped hexing and pranking people. He had to mature for her to see him as what he truly was. Every time they argued, James reverted back to the immature lad that he was before they became a couple. She was the reason he didn't act like an immature…"

"Prat," James offered. Though, the story wasn't really anything like he and Kira, he could see the parallels. He was acting like a prat now that he and Kira were fighting. The Headmistress was trying to tell him not to act like an idiot just because they were in a tiff. That was no reason to drop a tub of Flubber Worms on the Headmistress. Now that he actually thought about it James groaned at the sheer stupidity. "I'm sorry," he admitted, quietly.

"Now, that I believe," the Headmistress said. "Now off to lunch, young man."

James grumbled angrily at himself as he shuffled out of McGonagall's office. He wondered gloomily down the hall towards the Great Hall, not paying attention to who might be in his way. Most people (used to James Potter wondering down the hall not paying attention) knew to stay out of his way. He would walk right into you without apologizing or stopping and perhaps he would even step on you if you didn't scurry out of his way fast enough. It wasn't that James was intentionally inconsiderate, just that he often got so wrapped up in his own head that there was a very small chance of anything breaking into his stream of consciousness.

One thing that certainly knew how to get his attention was Kira. She had just stumbled out of a bathroom, not paying much attention to who might be in her way because she was so focused on waving at the smoke coming from the back of her skirt (drying charms weren't her forte). Well, as can be expected, Kira ran headlong into James. The two of them tumbled to the ground, tangled in each others' arms. James ended up on top of Kira, his nose pressed against her cheek. They stayed like that for a while. James savoring the feel of her beneath him. Some part of him wondered if he would ever feel her there again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear.

James' head snapped up. That was not what he'd been expecting. Unless of course she was apologizing for running into him. Or perhaps because she was about to break up with him. James could feel his heart splitting in his chest. "Nothing to be sorry about," he muttered, rolling of her and sitting up. "If that's how you feel, I-" James choked on his words.

"But James!" Kira exclaimed sitting up. "I was just so worked up and I—I snapped. Then I felt foolish and kind of like you deserved it. Honestly your lack of forethought is a chronic problem. That being said… It doesn't mean that I…"

James' eyes went wide as understanding set in. She wasn't breaking up with him then. "Doesn't mean, what, Kira?" he asked, bemused. James thanked Merlin he wasn't usually an emotional roller coaster, it was exhausting.

"I love you, Jamie," she whispered, blushing fiercely.

"Gaahhheee…"

James stared at Kira wide eyed. Suddenly she was more beautiful than she had ever been before. While James had known for awhile that he loved Kira Fitzsimmons with all his heart, it had taken her saying the words to him for him to realize just how beautiful their relationship was, just how beautiful the world was, just how beautiful life was. Just knowing that he wasn't the only one who felt that way was so wonderful, James was literally so fill with wonder that he didn't realize his barely articulated "I love you too," had been (very easily) misconstrued by his lady love.

Kira's eyes were filling with tears as James stared blankly at her. He only snapped out of it when his beautiful, wonderful, glorious Kira vanished from his sight. He scrambled to his feet as she ran down the hall crying. "Kiki! Kiki, wait!" he yelled.

She swooped into a girls' toilet. James didn't even stop. The love of his life was in there and she was crying. Besides the very real possibility of getting expelled hadn't stopped him from attempting to dump a tub of Flubber Worms onto the Headmistress, the worse he'd get for this would be a detention or two and that was only if he was caught. James was a firm believer that you could break almost any rule if you weren't caught breaking it.

"James!" Kira snapped, furiously wiping the tears from her eyes. "What in Merlin's name are you doing in here?"

"It'll take more than a sign to keep James Sirius Potter from the woman he loves. Loves more than anything in the world. Even more than Quidditch and cake. Combined! And you know how much I love Quidditch and cake. Eating cake while playing Quidditch would be divine, but not nearly as divine as you are!"

"This isn't a joke, James!" Kira exclaimed.

"I know that!"

"Well then don't treat it as though it is!"

"Kira, I'm an idiot-"

"I managed to figure that one out on my own thanks."

James sighed. He was buggering this up. "I may be an idiot, Kira but I'm certainly not stupid enough to not realize how much I love you. How much I've always loved you. I'm just not as… sharp as you. Which you should bloody well know by now. When the woman I'm in love with tells me she loves me… I dunno… I went kind of catatonic or something." Kira was still frowning at him. Tears clinging to her eyelashes a bit of mascara smudged underneath one eye. Still she was so beautiful to him.

"You are so beautiful to me, Kira Fitzsimmons. And, if I have it my way, someday you'll be Kira Potter," James blundered on even though Kira began to cry freely again. "Someday I'll put my babies in you. And- And- And hold your hand while they wiggle their way into the world. I'll cry with you over their first bumps and bruises. I'll kiss your fears away when they head off to Hogwarts and I'll be there with you, for you, every step of the way. And then one day many, many years from now I'll lay down in bed with you and I'll die with you, Kira. I'll-"

Kira flung herself at James, wrapped her arms around his neck, so that when he lost his balance and fell backwards she fell with him. Kira was kissing him all over his face, covering them both with her tears that continued to fall even as she kissed him and laughed.

By the end of that day, James had gotten a detention. This one was new, though. Never before had any boy gotten a detention for being half naked in the girls' loo.


	25. Hiding in Plain Sight

"Sneaking doesn't do anyone any good." – D.C. Juarez

A/N: Hey, I updated super fast! That should be worth at least four good reviews! So pay up!

**Chapter Twenty Five**

Hiding in Plain Sight

Stephen looked into the Three Broomsticks. He was supposed to be securing a room for himself and Rose but he couldn't order a room with James and Kira snogging at the counter. Madam Rosemerta was seeing to the dishes as they washed themselves in a vain effort to ignore the couple eating each other's faces a few meters away from her. How could he order a room with the pair of them (not so kindly referred to as Potsimmons behind their backs (though truth be told they probably wouldn't have minded being called Potsimmons to their faces)) snogging within ear shot? He and Rosie had a plan. They wouldn't be outed as a couple by Potsimmons all because Stephan had forgotten to owl in his room request.

But they did seem particularly engrossed (emphasis on "gross") in their current activity. Maybe if he was subtle they wouldn't notice him. It was worth a shot, Rosie would be there any second and he didn't want anyone suspecting he'd travelled to Hogsmeade for her.

Stephan slipped into the Three Broomsticks with a group of sixth years hoping that he didn't stand out too much. He'd just gotten switched from the reserve team to the starting lineup. His first professional season wouldn't be until next year, but that hadn't stopped a few diehard Quidditch fans from seeking him out, something he found incredibly creepy. He snuck up to the bar and tried several times to get Rosemera's attention to no avail. She was too focused on trying to keep James from putting Kira onto the bar top. James finally got his girl onto the countertop and Rosemerta had had enough. She Charmed a bottle of Butterbeer to bang into James' head. It was clearly James' fault. Kira had been trying to get off the countertop as soon as he got her up there, but she was so distracted by his kisses that all her efforts were in vain. When the Butterbeer didn't work, Rosemerta sprayed the two of them with water from her wand. The pair sputtered and parted and Stephan snorted drawing their attention to him.

"Bugger-dy fuck," he muttered.

"Wood," James said, surprised and soaked to the bone. Kira had already dried herself off but James was too easily distracted to have even thought of it. Kira rolled her eyes, flicked her wand, drying James. "What're you doing here, mate?" he asked, not noticing that he was now dry.

"Just in the neighborhood," he muttered.

"Okay…" James said, confused. "The season just ended, probably needing a drink. Plus I read in Quidditch Weekly you were transferred from the reserves to the starting lineup. Ahha! I'll buy you a drink to celebrate! It'll be great. Kiki we're going to get snockers with a professional Quidditch player!"

"James we're not getting drunk in the Three Broomsticks than stumbling back to Hogwarts. Not after what happened last time with Filch and the bucket of jello. We'll buy the liquor than go back to your dorm to get sauced. Like mature adults," Kira said, sounding reasonable.

"Right! Wood you're coming back to my dorm with me and Kira."

"Sorry, Potter," Stephan said. "But getting drunk with the two of you anywhere near a bed is a disaster waiting to happen."

James grinned, clearly seeing the former as a compliment.

"Besides I'd like a room… to relax. End of a rough season."

James was about to protest but Kira interrupted him. "Got the booze, babe," she said, holding up a bottle of fire whiskey she had swindled out of Madam Rosemerta who just wanted want the pair to leave.

"Bahh…" he began before catching a look in Kira's eye. A look even Stephan understood. A look that shouldn't be given in public where immature third years could see. "Let's go!" James grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door. He jumped past Rose as she slipped into the pub. She looked cautiously at them, before catching sight of Stephan by the bar.

He turned back to Rosemerta. "I need a room," he snapped.

"Never were this grouchy when you were a student," she grumbled handing him a key. Stephan dumped a handful of coins on the counter top.

"This should cover it for a few hours." He rushed up the stairs and into one of the small dusty room at the end of the hall. He breathed a sigh of relief. If they were found out it wouldn't be his fault. Not that he wanted anyone to find out they were together. Hell no! During the past few visits their physical relationship had leapt forward. Stephan had been putting the brakes on things, wanting to wait at least until this visit. Rose had turned seventeen a few days ago so if things became physical he wouldn't feel like such a giant pervert.

It probably would as well. Rose had been pushing and pushing him to take their physical relationship farther and farther. Which made pulling away from her harder and harder. Every time he had to disengage from her slender little body a few more of his brain cells died in an effort to remain sane. He couldn't possibly be allowed to think about gripping her perky little breasts, or groping her round bottom. If he did he'd never be able to get anything done. Really losing a few brain cells in an effort to remain efficient was a small price to pay.

He was really wondering whether or not he should… take his girlfriend's… virtue. They only had a few hours. If he properly prepared her for what they would do and if he did it, he wouldn't have much time to hold her afterwards. And he wanted to be able to hold her. He wanted her to know that he… loved her. Without him having to say it. Their relationship was so odd right now. He wanted to devote hours to worshiping her body before he… took her. And right now he just didn't have the time. He wanted to be able to actually spend a significant amount of time with her before taking such a giant step. He felt like a bloody tosser for taking their relationship as far as he had. Very much decided, he wasn't taking it any farther now that she was seventeen. Not until she graduated and they moved in together.

Stephan banged his head against the wall. By the time that happened, he'd probably be brain dead. He was about to bang his head again when the door flew open and two snogging teens fumbled in. At first Stephan thought that James was back with a girl that definitely wasn't Kira. His worry vanished as soon as the messy head popped up from the bed and revealed two startled green eyes. Albus then. But who was the platinum blond giggling on top of him?

Albus cleared his throat and wiggled his way out from under the girl. "Sorry, Wood," he said. "We weren't paying much attention, you understand?"

The little blond in his arms giggled. "Oh, we were paying attention," she smiled knowingly. "Just not to where we were going!" She pulled him out of the room and into another room down the corridor. As the door slammed shut, Stephan had no doubt who the aggressor in that relationship was.

Rose rushed up the stairs moments later. Stephan held the door open for her and closed it gently behind her. She whipped off her cloak. Stephan turned back in time to see her throw herself down on the creaky bed. He stiffened. _The walls most be very thin_, he thought, cringing at the sounds coming from Albus' room. There was also no doubt what they were doing.

"Is that what I think it is?" Rose whispered.

"Probably so." Stephan sat down next to her on the bed. "Who's the girl?"

"Persephone Lovelace. She's the same year as me in Gryffindor. Not much to her really… can't keep her mouth closed. Can't stop gossiping and always has a bloody Witch Weekly in her hand… she likes Quidditch, though."

"Can't be that bad, then," Stephan decided.

Rose laughed. "He's asking for trouble really. When they're not shagging, they're arguing. Poor bloke is doomed to another break up. I wonder why he bothers."

Stephan tilted his head towards the moans and creaking coming from down the hall. "I think I know."

Rose grinned up at her boyfriend who gulped. "Rose," he sighed.

"Oh, bloody hell, Stephan!" Rose snapped sitting up. "Albus is the same age as me and listen to him! He doesn't even like that girl and I… well, you and I do like each other. Why can't we be like them?"

"Because we're not like them."

"That's sh-"

"The reason that they're shagging in the Three Broomsticks is because not only do they, apparently, not like each other very much, but they also certainly don't respect each other. It's just-" Rose cut him off.

"But you've shagged girls before! What's wrong with me? What have they got that I haven't?" She stood up in front of him with her hands on her hips. "I'm sure you liked and respected them well enough!"

"But I didn't, Rosie," Stephan snapped, standing up, towering over her. "Those girls were slags and I was a despicable pervert who took advantage of that fact. After we were done, I barely paid them any mind. If you put any one of those girls in front of me I wouldn't be able to tell you their names. And I bet you the reverse would be true, as well. Because we were disposable to each other, but Rose you are not disposable to me. I adore you too much to disrespect you by shagging you in a dusty room with thin walls and your cousin mounting some girl down the hall, with little to no time to prepare you and certainly no time to hold you afterwards. It's not good enough for me and shouldn't be good enough for you!"

"You can't make me feel bad about wanting to be with you," Rose snapped.

"Which, if you were listening, you'd know was not my point. I love the fact that you're attracted to me," Stephan said with a self satisfied smile. Rose smacked him lightly on the chest but smiled.

"I'm just frustrated," she mumbled.

"Me too, Rosie. But it'll be worth it when we finally do it and do it right."

She smiled. "You wanna do it?"

"I wanna do you," he muttered huskily.

He leaned down and kissed her light on the lips. Rose gave a high pitch laugh and wrapped her arms around his waist. They kissed each other a few times before falling on to the bed for a giggle filled snog. And even if Stephan knew he would lose a few brain cells when he pulled away from Rose's perk little body but it was totally worth it.

* * *

Lily ran down the hall, grasping for breath as she searched for any person in her family who she could tell what she'd just heard. What was worse was how calmly Scorpius had told her. He told her like it didn't matter. Like it didn't change everything. How was she supposed to deal with this one her own? And what was worse was that Scorpius didn't seem to care. She didn't know how to deal with it if he didn't care, so she had to tell someone.

Lily ran past the third floor broom closet for the fifth time and skidded to a halt. There was moaning, groaning and the clanking of bottles behind the door. That meant only one thing. Potsimmons. She ripped open the door, James stumbled out backwards with his shirt flapping open and his trousers around his knees. Kira pocked her head out while hiding behind the side of the door. Do to her bare shoulders Lily assumed she was topless. Perhaps bottomless as well.

James looked up at his sister from his position flat on his back on the floor. "What's up, Lils?" he asked, casually.

"Clearly, not you," she said, hands on her hips.

"I was a moment ag-oww!" Kira hurled his robes at him from the broom closet cutting James off. Lily gave the pair a moment to right themselves silently thanking Merlin that it was a nice spring day and most of the students were out enjoying the weather. "What can I do for you, sister mine?" James asked, now fully clothed, with an equally (though neater looking) fully clothed Kira by his side.

"You can stop talking like an idiot," she snapped.

"I actually can't promise that."

"This is serious, James!" Lily yelled.

"I don't even know what this is!" James yelled, back.

"Well, hush then," Kira said, "and maybe she'll tell us."

They both turned to her and suddenly Lily hadn't a clue how to begin. "Scorpius… his parents… there was a letter in his hand… he was so calm about it…"

James and Kira waited for more, but Lily was at a loose.

"Calm about what?" James asked finally.

"What was in the letter," Lily answered promptly wringing her hands.

"What _was_ in the letter?" Kira asked.

"It was from his parents."

"We got that bit," James muttered.

"They were telling him something."

"Usually the function of a letter."

"Something bad."

"Easily inferred from your attitude."

"Oh, would you shut up, James!"

"Well, get on with it! You interrupted something very important!"

"Scorpius' Mum is pregnant." She just blurted it out. Which was about the only way she was likely to get it out.

Both James and Kira stood frozen. Probably in shock and maybe in disgust. Mrs. Malfoy was as old as their parents and the thoughts of their parents doing what needed doing to get pregnant was disturbing. On another level the thought that these two people would try to replace their son with another child was emotionally disgusting. Especially to try to replace a boy they all felt was as wonderful as Scorpius.

"How's he handling it?" Kira asked, eventually.

"How's he-! He's a man, Kiki! Like me. We handle it like men-"

"James you were an inarticulate mess because your dad was talking about sex." James grumbled at his girlfriend.

"He's acting like it doesn't matter. He tried to tell me in passing! In passing!" Lily exclaimed. "I know he's upset. His mother will be focusing on the new baby and eventually she won't be writing to him anymore. He's acting like that won't upset him. I know it will and soon he'll start thinking that if it weren't for me he'd still have his family. And then he'll break up with me and I don't know what I'll do. He can't break up with me! I love him!" Lily slapped a hand over her mouth and turned a horrified face to her brother and his girlfriend.

"Okay, you need to cool it," James said. "Scorpius isn't a sixteen year old girl. He's not going to blame you for his parents acting like idiots."

"First off." Kira punched James in the shoulder.

"Why?"

"Sixteen year old girl—Ass!"

"Meany."

"And second, James is right, Lily. Scorpius is not the sort of bloke who would blame you for what his parents are doing. And if his mother is willing to completely abandon her son, well that's not your fault. Scorpius is smart enough to know that. Plus he loves you too, so-"

"Whoa!" James held his hands up. "What do you mean he loves her?"

"Oh don't be ridiculous, James! Anyone with eyes can see that he loves her. He refused to leave with his parents for her-"

"No-no!" Lily interrupted. "He said he left his family because he didn't want his family controlling his life. It wasn't for me."

"Go on thinking that if you like," Kira said. "But the truth is that if he hadn't been with you the whole situation probably wouldn't have happened and if it had he'd have had a much harder time turning his back on his family. In reality he might not have done it at all." Silence followed this.

"So he will blame me!" Lily whaled.

"Merlin! You and your brother are so bloody thick! I was just proving that he loves you not that he'll blame you. You both are such damn drama queens! Really, its tiring being around you both."

Lily cleared her throat. "Well, I understand how being around my brother is trying for you. Every five seconds he's mounting you."

"Up top!" James' hand went up, Lily went with it, slapping her hand against his. James took most insults as compliments. It kept him happy.

"What are we going to do about Scorpius?" Lily asked. She was at a loose. He was so bloody calm about it. It just wasn't normal.

"As I so often tell all of you to do," Kira said, a superior gleam in her eye, "we just have to be supportive. We have to let him know that we are here for him and that we love him. And that if his mother truly abandons him we have to make sure he knows that we won't."

"You'd think by now we'd all know that," Lily said. She fell against the wall with a heavy sigh.

"Well, I know that I'm shagging a genius," James said. "And on that note-" James grabbed Kira around the waist, hailing her back into the closet while she squealed happily.

"That was embarrassing, Kira!" Lily yelled. All that answered her was James growling and Kira giggling. Lily sighed. Everything was so easy for them. They didn't have to worry about either of their families abandoning them and the other one blaming the first one for it… Lily grumbled. That hadn't even made sense in her own head.

Lily kicked her leg out and walked down the hall aimlessly. All she wanted was to be snuggled in a broom closet with Scorpius, feeling his big hands on her breasts. Her heart stuttered at thought. All of the sudden he'd become so active in their intimate relationship. It was so wonderful how close she felt to him when he filled her mouth with his tongue, flicked his thumbs over her nipples and rubbed his thigh against the center of her body. She was just so happy. She was terrified of losing that happiness. She felt that she had gotten it so easily she could lose it just as easily.

Happy but terrified. Emotion was exhausting.

Eventually Lily ended up on the first floor, she wondered over to the wall by the one-eyed witch and slipped down to the ground, her legs stretched out before her. The halls were bare, all the students outside. She had no idea where Scorpius was. They'd been laying together next to the lake when he'd told her about the letter he was playing with. She'd taken a few minutes to talk to him when it occurred to her that he was, on the surface at least, completely fine with his mother's pregnancy and all it would mean for him. After that Lily had lied telling him she had to use the loo and had gone in search of someone to talk to. It just figure that when she wanted a member of her family she couldn't find one and when she just wanted to be alone she was tripping over them.

But life—Lily grunted in disgust at her own inner musings. Everyone always came up with some vague adage about "life" when things were tough. They'd say things like "well, that's life," or "sometimes life punches you in the gut, you just gotta take it." None of it actually helps. None of it makes life's challenges any easier to manage. If she had to wax poetics on life she might as well be honest.

"Life kicks the crap out of you and then it kills you," she muttered to herself. _There_, she thought, _that suits my mood_.

"What was that, love?"

Lily jumped and looked up. Scorpius stood over her, looking curiously down at her. His face changed suddenly to worry and he rushed to her side. He reached out and ran his fingers over her cheeks. Lily felt the moistness on her cheeks and she realized that she was crying. Silent tear running like twin streams down her cheeks. Lily rubbed her eyes, dislodging Scorpius' gentle touch, trying to stop the flood.

"Baby," Lily looked back at him. Her noble man. Her Auror. Her love. The tears fell faster. "Please."

Scorpius opened his arms and Lily fell into them. He held her, stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head while she cried. Eventually the tears slowed and stopped. Lily pulled away from the wet stain on his shirt, nuzzling Scorpius' neck. He put his finger under chin and directed her lips up to his own. His kiss was gentle almost pleading and it made Lily immediately guilt ridden. She was worrying him. She didn't want to worry him she wanted to make him happy. So, if/when his mother truly abandoned him, he'd be too happy with her to blame her.

Lily slipped her tongue between his lips and Scorpius pulled away. His expression was slightly reproachful. "Lily." One word with so much meaning. 'Now is not the time,' remained unspoken between them.

"I told James and Kira," she said. "I hope you don't mind."

"That's all right. They'll tell the rest of your family so I won't have to. Not even sure if they'll care," he said, idly.

"Of course they'll care!" Lily exclaimed. "And they're not _my_ family, Scorp. They're _our_ family. For that reason and a million more they'll care about the things that bother you."

"It doesn't-"

"Don't lie to me. Please don't."

Scorpius sighed. "I suppose I've had longer to come to terms with it. It sucks-"

"It's terrible."

"But it's not surprising." Lily began to protest. "At least not for me. Mum's always deferred to Dad. Whatever he wanted she gave him. No backbone in that woman."

"How can you be so… okay with this?"

"How come you're so upset about this?"

"You know what's going to happen."

"Nothing is certain, Lily. My mother might surprise me. I hope to Merlin she does but, on the other hand, I'm the person I am today because of how she focused her love on me. I'm not selfish enough to not want my brother or sister to experience that."

"You're too good for them," Lily whispered.

Scorpius smiled. "Yes. Isn't it pretty to think so?"


	26. I Love You

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but this is a long one so hopefully it was worth it! Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, get over it, I have.

**Chapter Twenty Six**

I Love You

Hugo had never felt closer to Ruby than he did in that moment. Now in reality they were across the room from each other with his parents and sister separating them along with a deep uncomfortable silence, but that didn't make any difference to him. And from the look in Ruby's eyes it didn't matter much to her either. They were held together by a bond more powerful than his parents' disapproval. Hugo smiled ruefully at the memory of his mother's reaction when he'd told her and his father that he wanted to enter the Auror summer training camp and that he wanted to have his birthday dinner at Ruby's house in the same conversation.

Before you snort at the poor boy's lack of tact he really hadn't intended to tell his parents he want to celebrate his birthday with his girlfriend and that he had every intention of following in his father's footsteps at the same time but when he shown his application to the camp to his father his mother had flipped. She'd thought that her quiet, intelligent son would be following in her footsteps. She said Hugo was more suited for her line of work. Apparently, in her opinion, he wasn't cut out for the dangerous life of an Auror. And there was no way he'd be able to date a Muggle and be an Auror. So in a fit of irritation Hugo blurted out that he had every intention of continuing to date that Muggle and of spending his birthday with her.

Really Hugo had ever right to be pissed. Damn it, his mum had been born a Muggle why was she so prickly about him being with Ruby? It wasn't like she knew how honest he'd been with his blonde lady love. Her attitude just made no sense. (In reality (i.e. outside the mind of a boy) Hermione's reaction made perfect sense. Her daughter had made it clear that she intended to follow in her Aunt Ginny's footsteps and become a Quidditch reporter. With Hugo becoming an Auror who would do as she had done? Who would she have to mentor and teach in Magical Law? Well the answer to that was Lily but we're not quite there yet.) So after a few hours of arguing they'd decided on a compromise. The whole family would celebrate Hugo's birthday at Ruby's house and Hugo wouldn't necessarily sign up for the Auror program until he'd gone through the summer training and really thought about if it was the path he wanted to take or some crap like that.

A few days later they had spent a "pleasant" meal with Ruby's family and were now "enjoying" drinks in the parlor. Hugo was on a couch next to his sister with his parents hovering nearby (in case he decided to approach Ruby he was sure). Ruby's parents (for some reason) hadn't noticed anything amiss and were trying to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley (sure that this family would soon be joining theirs via marriage). Ruby was sitting on the easy chair across from Hugo watching her little brother, Henry, play with his blocks. Henry was three (about to turn four) and took his blocks very seriously. Every once and a while Hugo would have to pull away from the youngster intent on showing him the cool thing the blocks could do; Hugo's time with Ruby was so restricted these days that he really hadn't been paying as much attention to the little guy as he'd used to or really should've been. By the end of the night he'd be swearing to Merlin (and the ever clever fate) to somehow repay the three foot tall tike.

It would all happen in a moment and for the most part Hugo would miss it, but the parents wouldn't and that was the important thing. Hugo was watching Ruby as she doted on her brother and thinking about her doing the same with their children. He would be an Auror and she would be whatever she wanted. He would come home to a house filled with laughter and yes love. He and Ruby would fall into bed together after tucking the kids in and they would remember their small spring wedding and honeymoon in Northern Scotland. And after making love they would-

"Oh Merl-God!"

Hugo looked at his mother, whose exclamation had stirred him from his daydream she (along with his father and Ruby's parents, Judy and Mitch) were staring in Henry's direction wearing almost identical looks of horror. Hugo looked back towards the center of the room. Little Henry was giggling and stomping his feet while his blocks whizzed around him. He waved his pudgy little hands and the alphabet blocks spelled C-A-T then D-O-G, H-E-N-R-Y and M-U-M and D-A-D. He began to laugh harder when his mum tried to bat the blocks back to the floor where they belonged. Mitch, a bit more sensible at the moment, pulled his wife away from their boy.

Sighing Ron took out his wand, gave it a flick returning the blocks to the floor much to Henry's consternation. "Ron!" Hermione snapped.

"The cat's out of the bag, love," he said calmly. "They'd be getting a visit from a Ministry official in a few hours anyway to explain everything. We're both more than qualified to tell them what's happening, so we might as well… If it makes you feel better you can fill out the paperwork tomorrow."

"Oh, all right," Hermione sighed. "And considering how much power he's exhibiting and at such a young age there would be no way to hide it."

"Looks like everything's squared away with you, now," Rose whispered to Hugo. A smile overtook Hugo's face as he realized it was true. No more lying, watching every word that came out of his mouth—he was free.

Hugo jumped up. "So we're going to tell them?" he demanded of his parents.

"Tell them what?" Mitch asked, affronted.

"You are going to sit silently while your mother and I explain to these fine people what's going on… but yes," Ron said.

Hugo shot across the room, wrapped Ruby in his arms and whispered, "Remember, you're surprised and confused." He kissed her cheek and cuddled up next to her.

Had Hugo been less excited about what this meant for his relationship he would have noticed the look on Ruby's face. She certainly looked surprised and confused but she also looked heartbroken. Over the hours that followed the surprise faded on Ruby's face but not the confusion and the heart break. While his parents began explaining about Hogwarts Hugo refocused his attention on Ruby. He immediately knew something was wrong. Hugo had known Ruby long enough to be able to know how she was feeling by how she was holding herself.

His Ruby was curled in on herself, clenching his shirt sleeve so hard her knuckles were white. He didn't need to see her face to know that she was fighting tears. He hadn't a clue what was wrong. To his thinking this was a gift. They didn't have to lie anymore. They could have a Wizard Wedding if they wanted and invite her parents. Thanks to little Henry everything was so much simpler. Hugo squeezed her knee and she looked up at him. He saw it then, in her eyes, "Why not me?"

"Dad?"

Ron stopped in misted of describing the moving staircases at Hogwarts to a much calmer Mitch and Judy. "Yes, son?"

"Can I go somewhere and talk to Ruby?"

"Hugo…" Hermione began.

"Please, Mum."

His parents shared a silent conversation. "All right, son. Somewhere in the house," Ron said.

Hugo laced his fingers through Ruby's and led her up the stairs to her room for the first time (ever, probably) they lingered in an uncomfortable silence.

"Tell me, Ruby," he said, eventually.

She shook her head. "You already know."

"I need to hear it."

"Why?"

"Because it's ridiculous, Ruby."

"Is it so ridiculous to wish I was like you? To wonder why it's my brother and not me? Why wasn't it me?" The tears started to run down her cheeks.

"Ruby," Hugo whispered. "I know I didn't get to say this to you in person, but I promise you it's true. I love you just the way you are. I don't love you in spite of the fact that you're not a witch. I just love you, Ruby. If you were a witch I'd love you just as much as I do now."

"It's just not fair, Hugo." Ruby let him wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I've been a part of your world for how long? And it's my brother that gets to actually walk in that world. Who am I kidding? I'm just an outsider looking in-"

"No, Ruby!" Hugo gripped her shoulders. "After we're married, I'll take you to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. We'll go to Diagon Alley, St. Mungo's and the Ministry. I'll get us a home in a Wizarding village like Ottery St. Catchpole and we'll live in the Wizarding World. Me and you. We just have to wait a bit."

Ruby fell into his arms and cried for a few minutes longer.

After a moment of silence, she whispered, "I love you too, Hugo. Just the way you are. I wouldn't want you any different."

Hugo, who knew his little Ruby better than he knew himself, also knew that for the moment at least her issues with her brother being a wizard weren't resolved.

* * *

Scorpius threw a hex over Albus' shoulder taking out the enchanted life-size model of a dark wizard that had been about the "attack" him. The Auror wannabes had been split into groups of three based on a personality test they'd all been forced to take. As it happened Scorpius had been teamed with Albus and Hugo. The test apparently indicated that they all similar temperaments. For the past three weeks it'd been a match made in heaven.

Since Scorpius had been in the program longer than Hugo or Albus he'd been placed in charge of the group. It was his job to tutor them through their lessons, to lead them through their practice courses and just generally help them through the program. Not that they needed much help. The pair of them had so much natural talent every once and awhile Scorpius actually wondered if he was the best choice for group leader. He had to work and study to be as good as he was in the program. Hugo and Albus, on the other hand, just had a knack for it.

Now Scorpius counted Albus as one of his best mates and over the weeks had gotten to know Hugo better, but if he had to listen to the two of them gabber on about how freakin' perfect their relationships were for one more day… Well, he'd lose it. Albus was only ever a problem when the topic of sex came up. Most of the time he just complained about Persephone. "She's so shallow…" "All she wants to talk about is Quidditch…" "All she reads is Witch Weekly…" But as soon as the conversation switched to sex all he could do was grin and compliment her. "She's so good at…" "All she wants to do is shag…" "Merlin, I'm lucky…"

Hugo wasn't much better. He and Ruby were the world's most perfect couple. Absolutely nothing was wrong in their perfect little world. Hugo just loved flaunting his true love in front of both of them. All he could talk about was how long they'd known each other, how well they knew each other, how they were each other's first kiss and how when they finally did shag it would be because they loved each other too much not to act on it. Scorpius actually wasn't sure which was worse: hearing about Albus' amazing sex life or hearing about Hugo's amazing love life.

Both pretty much sucked and forced him to think about the flaws in his own relationship. It seemed no matter what he did he couldn't keep Lily from crying over him. If it wasn't him pulling away, it was him not getting overly upset about his parents having another kid. There was always something. His relationship wasn't simple like Albus' any more than it was perfect like Hugo's.

Of course he didn't tell them any of that. As far as they knew he and Lily were in bliss which is not to say he went into any kind of detail about their intimate relationships. Albus was still Lily's brother and Hugo her cousin. Neither wanted to know how far they'd gone (a lot of heavy petting over the clothes and recently quite a bit of petting under) but vague statements like, "Well… you've seen her smile…" or "You know how it is with lasses who know what they want…" It was all hazy enough that Hugo and Albus knew they were fooling around without actually knowing what they were doing.

It was damn hard being mates with your girlfriend's relatives.

But Scorpius couldn't dwell on that in the moment. The course was designed to become more difficult as you successfully moved through it. At this point the three of them had yet to encounter anything they couldn't handle. An _Expelliarmus_ here and _Stupefy_ there and they were almost done with the course. By Scorpius' estimation they had only been in the warehouse maze (much bigger on the inside than it appeared on the outside) for about twenty minutes and they were already half way through.

(In order to keep the younger trainees from freaking out in the middle of the course the instructors (past their prime Aurors who couldn't work the field anymore) had told all the Auror wannabes what to expect in the middle of the course so they would know when it was half over).

As the leader of their three man group Scorpius signaled for Albus and Hugo to duck while he took care of the last Dark Wizard model. When it hit the grove of enchanted shrubs (which quickly engulfed the model hoping was something squishy and screamy) Scorpius led the way forward. They were supposed to find a "victim" in the middle of the maze and find a different route than the one they'd taken out of the warehouse. Their "victim" was an intern in the Auror offices who preferred desk work but offered up her services when the Department Head asked. (Scorpius, along with everyone who had ever seen the seventeen year old girl around Harry Potter, knew that she had a giant crush on him and that had anyone but Harry Potter asked, she never would have agreed).

Scorpius carefully made his way around yet another enchanted shrub to the dead center of the maze where their victim was waiting. He didn't look back to make sure that Hugo and Albus had made it. Half the job, Scorpius had learned, was trusting your partners to look after themselves. If you had to look after them the mission might fail and if that happened someone might die. You needed to have absolute faith in your partners. Luckily for Scorpius with partners like Albus and Hugo that wasn't too hard to manage.

Once Scorpius reached the victim he stopped dead, which was a mistake. It seemed that somewhere along the course there was a boggart. It had somehow gotten lose and for who knows how long had been terrorizing the victim they were supposed to be rescuing. The poor little intern was rolled up in a ball with her arms wrapped around her head, sobbing as the manic clown laughed hysterically at her fear. Scorpius raised his wand ready to banish it, when it turned towards him.

The breath froze in his lungs. He hadn't been aware that boggarts could do what this one just did. Though, in retrospect, it made sense. The boggart had been feeding off the interns fear for a while, it was more powerful than most got the opportunity to become… so why couldn't it turn into multiple people? Why not turn into Scorpius' grandparents, huddled around his parents who were holding him in their arms? Why not have them all gaze adoringly at the Dark Mark on his left wrist? Why not have them all saying over and over again, "Where so proud of you, Scorpius"? Why not?

Scorpius let out a shuttering breath and almost choked. It was all he could see. He couldn't rip his eyes or attention away from it long enough to notice the length of ivy inching towards his ankle. It was all he could hear. He couldn't pay any mind to Albus right behind him raising his wand to banish the image or Hugo fighting back the ivy. He didn't have it in him to see the victim that had unwittingly truly been in need of their rescuing.

As soon as Albus sent the boggart flying over the shrubs, Scorpius snapped out of it. He had a job to do. He could (and would) worry about what his greatest fear was later. He had to get the sobbing woman (and himself) out of this course as fast as possible.

Scorpius knelt down next to her and managed to pull her blotched from her arms. "What's your name?" he asked.

Albus and Hugo stood silently, vigilantly behind him, watching for danger while giving him the chance to calm the victim before they proceeded to get her and themselves out. It bespoke of their faith in him, that after he'd stuttered over the boggart that they still trusted him to lead them. They were better friends then he'd thought.

She sniffled. "I wanna go home!" she whaled.

"I know," Scorpius said. "Tell me your name and I'll make sure you get there in one piece as soon as possible."

"I'm Stephanie Whitmore, you walk past my desk everyday and never say hello!" She was clearly loosing it, Scorpius decided. It wasn't the ideal situation, but he supposed it was more realistic.

"I'll be sure to make up for that as soon as we get out of here, Stephanie. But we to move and now. Will you come with me?"

Stephanie gave him a teary nod. Scorpius grabbed Stephanie's hand. He led the way out of the clearing at the center of the warehouse towards the path the three of them had decided was the best way out before they began the course. Albus took point in front of him and Hugo behind him, covering himself and Stephanie. Scorpius knew that Albus was an extremely gifted wizard, his reflexes were sharp as a whip and his instinct was impeccable. But he never had a better chance to see his best mate in action than by running behind him.

Albus took care of just about every obstacle they faced. The few that he missed Hugo took care of. Scorpius would have helped, but every time a Dark Wizard model jumped out at them or any matter of Dark Creature approached them, Stephanie shrieked and wrapped her arms around Scorpius' head making it very hard to help defend them. For the millionth time since they entered the course Scorpius was glad that he had Albus and Hugo with him.

Ten minutes later they found out that they had made it through the course in forty five minutes. Fifteen minutes slower than the course instructors. For that they got the afternoon off, much to Scorpius' relief. Now that he was out of the course and the danger therein he'd begun thinking about that damned boggart again and all that it implied. For his family to be proud of him he'd have to dump Lily (both heartbreaking and terrifying), he'd have to stop being friends with the Potter and move back in with his parents content to do whatever they said for the rest of his life (like living in a cage of barbwire, being able to see freedom but having to bleed to reach it).

The worst part, Scorpius decided as he and Albus made their way back to the Potter home, was that Albus and Hugo had seen it. By the end of the night every Potter and Weasley across England would know what went down when he came face to with a boggart. There was no avoiding it. Lily would know and he'd be damned if he wasn't the one to tell her. She'd give him her sad little puppy dog eyes, she might even cry. And he would know that she was crying for _him_.

Because she loved him.

He knew she loved him. She had to love him. It was the only thing that made sense. After she blubbered all over him because his parents planned to replace him, he'd been confused. It wasn't like _her_ parents were going to replace her, why was she so upset? Then it hit him. She loved him. What hurt him, hurt her too. What broke his heart, broke hers. She loved him, end of story.

So out of respect for that love, he would tell her what his greatest fear was. And then he would tell her how much he loved her. Maybe that would keep her tears at bay. He could hope.

Albus didn't comment when Scorpius followed him up to the main house. Since they were home early, Lily would be there instead of waiting for him in his flat over the garage. They trudged into house together and made a beeline for the kitchen. It was universally acknowledged that after a long day a teenage boy was starving. When they entered they were faced with a sight seen far too often over the summer: Kira and James stealing food from the fridge.

The pair had begun working for George Weasley as inventors. Much to George's chagrin his son was a professional Quidditch player and his daughter was only interested in the business aspects of the joke shop. For a long time he was worried that there would be no one to keep the shop turning out top of the line pranks after his inevitable demise. Luckily for him James and Kira had taken up the mantle of troublemakers and were now making bank at it. Their ingenious line of "Dork Lord" apparel was (often literally) flying off the shelves.

Even though they both had plenty of money, they still had just about every meal at the Potters house instead of at their flat. Kira insisted that "stolen food just tastes better." (Of course she'd said it while snacking on a stolen apple so Scorpius just assumed that that was what she meant.)

Albus cleared his throat getting the begrudging attention of the two of them.

"No need to look so superior, Al," James said, stuffing his mouth full of stolen crisps. "Just because you and Scorpi went the responsible route instead of devoting your life to fun…"

"Oi, Potter," Scorpius warned, with feigned seriousness, "only Lily's allowed to call me that."

"Ahuh, cause that's gonna stop me…" James somehow managed to unhinge his jaw and swallow a pasty whole.

"Oh, bloody hell, Kira," Albus exclaimed. "How do you deal with that?"

"It's brain food, Al," she explained. "We need to eat at least twice our body weight to maintain optimal inventing capacity."

James' eye lit up as he chugged the last of the milk. "What about a new line of 'Volde-Dork' t-shirts?"

"Genius! You are in the presences of a genius!" Kira threw her arms around James. "Oh my Merlin! I'm shagging a genius!"

"Or a dumbass," Lily muttered as she walked in behind Scorpius and Albus. The pair sniggered appreciatively, the couple embraced across the room blissfully oblivious. "You guys are home early."

"We beat the crap out of the training course," Albus explained. "They let us go early."

"Well that's fortunate because our school letters came today. And you busy tossers missed them."

Albus wondered over the kitchen table were the letters were waiting but Scorpius didn't bother. He needed to talk to Lily not see Albus' get his Head Boy badge.

"What is it?" she whispered against his lips. Scorpius smiled and kissed her deeply until James threw a sponge at his head.

"Why?" he sighed, pulling away from Lily's pretty pink mouth.

"Principle," James shrugged.

Scorpius leaned against the wall next to pantry, wrapped his arm around Lily's waist and began telling her about his day. When he got to the part about the boggart he paused for a moment. Albus was sitting at the kitchen table clearly engrossed in his school letter; there was no badge on the table which was curious. Kira was throwing grapes into James mouth while sitting on the counter. These were his best friends and they would all hear about it eventually anyway…

"What was it, Scorp?" Lily whispered.

"My family," Scorpius didn't bother whispering. Albus stopped shuffling papers on the table and Kira's thrown grape hit James in the eye. The kitchen appeared to freeze. "There was a Dark Mark on my left wrist and they were telling me how proud of me they all were."

The silence lasted a few heart beats. And then…

"Dork Mark! What up?"

"We'll need a picture to go along with it…"

"Could you two be less sensitive?"

"Could you be a bigger nancy boy?"

"Oh, shut it, you ass!"

"Shut it both of you!" Lily yelled finally. "My Merlin, neither of you has any sensitivity, so just shut up!"

While the Potters were screaming at each other Scorpius had wondered over to the kitchen table. He smiled over his shoulder at his girlfriend while picking up his school letter.

"Bit heavy this year, eh?" he asked Albus, mildly.

"Mine felt normal."

"Hmm…"

"Are you all right, baby?" Lily whispered against his throat, wrapping her arms around his middle.

Scorpius closed his eyes and savored her closeness as he ripped open the letter. Something heavy fell out and clunked onto the table top. The room froze again.

"Are you sure you didn't open my letter by accident?"

Albus held up his letter and sure enough written on the front was the name 'Albus Severus Potter.' Scorpius looked down at his own letter. 'Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy' scripted on the front. He ripped open the envelop and searched the contents until he came across the letter from the Headmistress confirming that he, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, was to be Head Boy.

"This is madness!" he exclaimed.

"How so?" Albus asked.

"This badge belongs to you, Al. You're better behaved than I am, you've better marks than I have, you-you-you-"

"You better stop while you're ahead," James muttered.

"Look, Scorpius," Albus sighed. "I don't want to be Head Boy. I've a hard enough time being a Prefect. I mean look at my track record. All you've gotta do to get out a detention is snog me."

"Reeeaaallllyyy…"

"Shut up, James. You're better suited for it. You're a natural leader, Scorpius." Albus got up and headed out of the kitchen. "Enjoy it."

"Afternoon feeding frenzy's over, babe," James said. "Back to the grind… we gotta pitch our new ideas… I can see it now. A 'Volde-Dork' t-shirt on every boy and 'Dork Mark' knickers on every girl…"

"A bloody genius! You're a bloody genius! Merlin I'm so proud of you I just wanna tackle you and go bananas all over you!"

"No objections here, babe…"

The front door slammed behind them. Scorpius smiled until felt Lily's lips on his cheek.

"Are you all right?"

He sighed. "You know what really terrified me?" She shook her head. "It wasn't turning into my father, it wasn't the stigma of being just like him or even being a Death Eater. It was losing this," he waved his arms around the kitchen. "Losing moments of pure ridiculousness with James and Kira and talking to Albus about things that matter… It was losing you. That was worse bit. I couldn't bear to lose you."

"Oh, Scorpi…" Lily cuddled into his chest. "Who knew you were such a romantic?"

Scorpius smiled, kissed her forehead and inhaled her scent. "I love you, Lily Potter," he whispered.


	27. What This Means for Us

A/N: A quick update. Don't expect this to happen often, but do enjoy it!

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

What This Means for Us

Lily leaned her elbow on the pillow and popped her chin down on her fist. She stared adoringly at the man sleeping next to her.

She and Scorpius had never slept in the same bed before, they'd never taken each other's clothes off before, they'd never seen each other naked or done anything beyond a very heavy grope whist pushing the other's clothes out of the way. They had been together since Lily's fourth year and really they'd been taking their physical relationship at a snail's pace in her good opinion.

The emotional had been easy for Lily. She knew from the moment he first asked her out and she turned him down that he was something different. He'd actually thought about her as a person before he asked to go to Hogsmeade with her. If he hadn't liked what he'd thought about he never would have asked her, right? He was deep where the other tossers she'd gone out with were shallow. At the end of the day Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy was a good bloke. The sort of bloke that parents wanted their daughters dating. The sort of bloke every girl should marry.

He was certainly worthy of love… even if Lily'd had hard time articulating it.

Lily shook the memory of her sputtering and blushing after Scorpius' declaration out of her head. She'd thought at the time that sometimes words just aren't enough. For her to let Scorpius know beyond a shadow of doubt how she felt about him she needed to act on it. She was only thankful that he'd finally agreed to do so.

So here they lay. In Scorpius' bed, in his flat over the garage. Their clothes littered the floor and the bed a mess of sheets and bare skin. Scorpius had nodded off after their second go. She didn't blame him. For two inexperienced teens, they'd both just assumed that he would be the one in charge. So while she'd lain there in a bit of pain, he'd been… well… in charge of finishing the job. Lily really didn't blame him for being exhausted. He comes home from a hard day at Auror training and then shags his girlfriend twice… to her thinking he deserved a nap.

While he lay there, clearly exhausted, Lily took stock of her first lover. She hoped that he was to be her only lover, but only time would tell on that one. Lily's eyes started at the top and slowly moved down Scorpius' body. Over the last year he let his hair grow out. His white blonde hair now reached his shoulders. Lily played with a lock between her fingers as her eyes took in the rest of his face.

As far as she could tell his features were perfectly symmetrical. His brow was broad, his cheek bone sharp, his nose… imperial Lily decided and his lips perhaps too plump to be considered traditionally handsome. Lily reached out and traced her fingers over his strong jaw, down his long throat to his chest. Auror training had been good for him. His pecks and abs were well defined and Lily had to suppress a girlish giggle at the thought that this was her boyfriend. She'd had all this well defined strength on top of her mere moments before.

Smiling broadly, Lily let her fingers continue their journey down the contours of Scorpius' body. She traced his belly button, feeling the course hair that trailed down below the blanket at his waist. She was about to continue her exploration farther when Scorpius' hand settled on top of her own. He brought her curious fingers to his mouth and kissed each digit. Never a terribly modest girl, Lily didn't bother covering her breasts. They might not have been large, but she was proud of them nonetheless and, if Scorpius' lingering gaze was anything to go by, he approved.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he whispered.

"I'm trying, is it working?"

Scorpius smiled indulgently then sighed completely at his ease. He threw his right arm over his head, opening his embrace to Lily who gladly snuggled into his side.

"You know," he said. "It occurs to me that while you know all about my day, I have yet ask you about yours."

"Quite remiss of you," she whispered against his throat.

He groaned as her lips trailed over his jaw. "You'll forgive me, won't you?"

"Hmmm… maybe," she whispered.

"Lily…"

"Yes, Scorpi?" All innocent.

"Two things, love… First never let your brothers hear you call me that-"

"Bit late for that one."

"And two," he continued, sitting up and pulling Lily along with him, "how was your day?"

"Not terribly interesting. Nothing compared to yours… I went to go see Rose but she wasn't there and neither was Hugo actually. I figured he was at Ruby's but I haven't a clue about Rose. I wanted to see if she'd made Head Girl but…"

"That would be brilliant," Scorpius said, running a hand over his face.

"Why?" Lily asked with a very confusing spiral of panic in the pit of her stomach.

"I can just imagine a girl from Slytherin being Head Girl and giving me hell for a year. If the Head Girl is someone I know isn't a bitch this next year'll be easier on me."

Lily let out a sigh of relief she hadn't known she'd been holding. It was well known that the Head Boy and Girl shared a private dorm. While she was sure that Scorpius was looking forward to getting out of the Slytherin Dorms, she, on the other hand, wasn't looking forward to her sexy boyfriend sharing a private dorm with some slut. If that slut-girl was her cousin than Lily was certain that she'd have nothing to worry about. Right? Rose would never make a move on Scorpius. Right?

"… you know what I mean, right?" Lily shook herself. She hadn't a clue that Scorpius had been talking let alone what he'd been talking about.

"Ummm… yeah," she hazard.

"I suppose there are other girls that could be Head Girl. I mean Rose doesn't take her grades as seriously as her mother ever did. She still does well, but there are girls that do just as well if not better. Frankly I think next to Albus, Anora Thomas has the best grades in our year."

Lily bit her lip to keep from vocalizing her panic. Anora Thomas was Dean Thomas' youngest daughter and a beauty to boot. Her pitch black hair was smooth to the small of her back, her figure was perfectly curved and damn it she was smart and sweet and funny and at the moment Lily hated her. It was terrible to think that she was more secure in their relationship when Scorpius was less secure with himself. But now he was Head Boy and he was doing astronomically well in his Auror training, all of the sudden he was a catch for any girl, not just Lily.

He'd always been interested in her, for as long as she could remember. Now they were together and while they had their fair share of problems Lily never thought that another girl would ever be among those problems. In retrospect she didn't know why she'd thought that. Scorpius was handsome, he was smart, funny and nice. Any girl with eyes should be attracted to him. While she on the other hand was jealous, apparently blind and the reason that he no longer spoke to his family.

Lily pulled out of Scorpius' embrace and turned her back on him.

"Lily? Are you all right?"

"Ahh, yeah," she said.

"Lily."

She looked back at him, his face shown with disbelief. Lily bit her lip and scrabbled for an answer. He couldn't know that she was jealous now when she hadn't been jealous before. He was a smart bloke; he would be able to figure out why she was feeling this way all of the sudden and why she hadn't been feeling this way before. It would turn into the worst argument they'd ever had and she didn't want to end their first day as lovers with an argument. So she had to think of something. But what? WHAT?

There was a knock at the door to Scorpius' flat. The only person that Lily wouldn't mind knowing she'd shagged her boyfriend was Kira and there was no way it was Kira.

"Scorpius," DAMN IT! "It's Harry, could you open up?"

Lily unfroze before Scorpius did. She scrambled off of the bed, snatching up her clothes as she went, and headed for the walk in closet. By the time she was safely closed within the closet, Scorpius had gotten out of the bed, thrown on a shirt and pair of trousers and headed for the door. Lily let out a sigh of relief and started dressing. That was the last fucking thing she needed. Her father finding out that she'd shagged her boyfriend in the flat that he'd provided.

Two pairs of footsteps entered the flat and stopped in the living room.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Potter?" Scorpius asked, politely.

Her father laughed, gently. "I think at this point, Scorpius, when we're at home you can call me 'Harry.'"

"If you insist, Mr.- Harry."

Lily looked around the closet. For some reason she could hear what was going on in the living room with perfect clarity. She finished pulling her clothes on and listened closely for any hint that her father knew what they'd been doing.

"It's been a busy day, eh?" her father said.

"If you're referring to the boggart-"

"It's part of every Auror's basic training," Harry explained. "You'd've come face to face with one eventually. The principle being that the only way to fight your greatest fear is to know what it is."

"That makes sense."

"The problem with it is that so often the fears of young people stem from insecurities. Emotional issues that manifest themselves as fear."

"Was it that way for you?"

Lily felt her stomach drop. That was really personal. She pressed her ear against the wall to hear her father's response.

Harry sighed. "No. I saw a Dementor. For Ron it was and still is a spider. For another girl in our DADA class it was mummy. But for Neville it was Professor Snape and for Professor Lupin it was the full moon… How do you learn to defend against the full moon? When it's not the literal thing that frightens you but the idea of it. During basic training when the program leaders face something like that they have to come up with another way of dealing with it. Usually through counseling, confidence training. Sometimes it's enough."

"Other times?"

"Other times the program coordinators have to decide whether or not they think that the Auror trainee has the courage to overcome that which they fear on the field… Very often the decision is not to risk it."

It went quiet for a moment.

"So, Albus told you what I saw then?" Scorpius asked.

"The course was being monitored. The training directors told me what had gone wrong during your run. The directors were worried about how you handled it. I'm sure you're aware of this, but freezing like that could get you or one of you partners killed in the field. You'll begin a mandatory counseling tomorrow. I don't think the problem is confidence, but you must learn how to deal with it without freezing."

"Of course, sir."

There was another short silence.

"Was that all, sir?"

"Unfortunately, no."

There was a bit of shuffling around in the living room and Lily finally found a small vent at the base of the closet. She pushed a few shoes out of the way and knelt down to peer through it. Her father was sitting on the couch with Scorpius sitting on the loveseat across from him. Scorpius looked only slightly rumpled and her father was still wearing his Ministry robes. Apparently the elder Potter had come straight from work to Scorpius' flat. Thankfully he had yet to notice the mess that was the bedroom.

"One of my head Aurors was having a problem with a suspect at St. Mungo's. I went in to throw my weight around as Ron loving calls it. The whole 'I'm Harry Potter, you'll tell me what you did or else' racket." Lily smiled at her father's eye roll. He sighed, heavily. "I ran into your mother, Scorpius. She was heading out from the Maternity Ward. She stopped me and we had tea… I'm sure you're aware of what she told me."

"About the baby?"

"Purebloods can live well into their hundreds. Dumbledore was over one hundred and fifty when he died and he very likely would have lived twenty, maybe thirty years longer. But for all that, there does reach a time when female purebloods have a hard time conceiving. The body doesn't wear out as fast, but to my understanding, women are born with only a certain number of healthy eggs. After a while, having children becomes more and more difficult."

"What are you saying, Mr. Potter?"

Lily bit her lip.

"Your parents are having… difficulty getting pregnant. Your mother is worried about disappointing her husband, but she's more worried about you. She told me that she'd love to have another baby, more than that she'd love to have her baby boy back. She said that she has tried to reason with Draco, but at the moment he's torn."

"Between what and what?"

"His love for you and his loyalty to his father. The beliefs that his father to this day holds dear are what he grew up on-"

"They're beliefs I grew up on as well and you don't see me-"

"It's different, Scorpius," Harry insisted.

"How?"

"Your father almost killed Albus Dumbledore for his father's beliefs. He watched, helplessly, while his school peer was tortured right in front of him by his aunt. If he were to turn his back on his father and those beliefs it would mean that he suffered through all of the horrors of war needlessly. It's bad enough that they lost the war, but to lose the belief that even though they lost they weren't wrong… it's harder pill to swallow."

"But… doesn't he love me?" Scorpius' voice sounded so small.

"According to your mother, he keeps a photo of you in his pocket at all times. It is my belief that given enough time your father might come around-"

"Why should I-"

"Scorpius," Harry snapped. "You have no children, so you don't know what it's like to want what you think is best for them and watch them turn their back on it. For all the things you'll get in this life, you'll only ever get one set of parents. And take it from someone who lost their own and had to make do with several wonderful substitutes; it's never quite the same as the ones that God gave you. Give your father time but hold on to him and to your mother or you'll regret it." Harry sighed again and got up. "And you're far too young to regret anything."

He made his way over to the door. "Dinner's at seven, you're more than welcome to join us." The door clicked close a moment later. Lily slowly made her way out of the closet and settled herself next to Scorpius.

He opened his arms, she cuddled in.

She kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear. "I love you too, Scorpi."

* * *

A/N: Major drama! I think Lily and Scorpius earned their own special chapter. I won't make a habit of it though, so don't worry. Much love!


	28. Her, Her and Me

A/N: I've been getting a lot of complaints about Albus' "relationship" with Persephone. Hopefully this chapter will take care of that. Thanks for all of the reviews.

I'd like to take this time to answer a few questions from Hazie-boo-girl.

Lily crying issue: Lily and Ginny are two different individuals. Just because Ginny isn't the crying type doesn't necessarily mean that she has never cried. Lily wasn't raised with six brothers, given Albus and James' characters they aren't overbearing older brothers that would require Lily to grow a thick skin. With regard to the character I've created I feel that Lily would cry when she thought Scorpius might break up with her or when she found out his parents were trying to replace him. She's more emotional than her mother.

Adding other characters: I feel like it's too late in the story to add other characters. When I began writing I wanted to write about the children of the Trio, that's what I've done and will continue to do.

The Malfoys: Scorpius' drama with his parents will be resolved, just give me time!

Thanks for your review and I hope to hear from you again!

**Chapter Twenty Eight**

Her, Her and Me

Albus Potter was sitting in his bedroom, confused. What just happened to him made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

He'd Apparated to Diagon Alley early that morning to get his school supplies before the rush at the end of summer. The streets had been all but empty when out of _Flourish_ _and_ _Blotts_ came Anora Thomas. With her creamy mocha skin, dark blue eyes and plump lips; she was a vision in her flowing white skirt and matching top. Albus and Anora had always got on well, mostly out of circumstance. She was the other Gryffindor Prefect in his year so they'd gone on nightly patrols together for years.

For the most part they'd been friends and nothing more. Of course, Albus had wasted years on that damned Daisy so even if Anora had flirted with him at any point over the years, he probably wouldn't have noticed. But he certainly noticed now. She'd spent the day floating by his side, offering to help him buy new robes and find the proper school supplies. It was obvious (even to Albus) that she was flirting like crazy with him. And so, he flirted like crazy right back.

Anora was absolutely nothing like Persephone. She was deep, Albus found that he could actually stand to talk to her in more than monosyllabic utterances. In that same vein, she was smart. She took her grades seriously, while knowing that her grades weren't the most important things in the world. She was also kind. Over that afternoon, she'd spoken to him at length about what had happened between him and Daisy. She didn't shy away from the part he'd played in that disaster and Albus found that he quite liked that.

They'd had a smashing good time and Albus found himself fighting the impulse to ask her out. Even though he and Persephone were far from perfect, he would never humiliate her the way that Daisy had humiliated him. If he wanted to be with someone else (and he did) he would break up with her. But that was part of the problem.

Another part was what happened when Albus walking towards the Three Broomsticks to Floo home. Anora had, of course, gone with him to see him off and use the Floo herself. At some point as they were walking down the street she'd moved slightly behind him. At some other point she said that she tripped. She said that the only way for her to keep from falling was to grab onto something. She said the only thing for her grab a hold of was Albus' bum. She said it was an accident and that was what confused him.

Anora didn't seem the type to "accidentally" (on purpose) grab a bloke's bum. It made him wonder just how much Persephone was blabbing about their relationship in the girl's dorm. Had he become some sort of… shag legion to the girls of Gryffindor tower? He knew he didn't disappoint Persephone in their intimate relationship. She never complained and often encouraged him loudly. Plus if he wasn't providing what she required, Albus was certain that she'd find someone else to take care of it.

(Truth be told Albus wasn't sure how much he'd care if Persephone left him for another bloke. It would be sort of embarrassing catching them snogging or shagging, but Albus had never really cared enough about Persephone to be jealous. Or at least that's what he thought. He would find out the truth soon enough.)

The truth of the matter was that Albus needed someone to talk to. An outside opinion would help him gain perspective on the entire situation. The Persephone issue, Anora "accidentally" grabbing his bum and how in the hell he was supposed to deal with both. The only person he wanted to talk to was Scorpius, but lately his best mate had been surgically attached to his sister which meant that by the end of the day everyone would know that Anora had grabbed his bum. Grand Molly would have their wedding planned by the end of the week.

On the bright side his family would definitely approve of her.

Oh, bloody hell! He didn't even know what the bum grab meant. It might have been an accident, she might have just been being friendly all day, he might have been completely wrong about everything. Unfortunately he wouldn't know the truth of the matter until he discussed it with someone else. And if his whole family was going to find out he might as well invite James as well. Every once and a while James was a good brother, he might pull through for his younger brother like he did during the whole Daisy Doe debacle.

Albus tugged his wand out of his robes, gave it a slight flick and Disapparated. He reappeared outside of Scorpius' flat. He didn't want to walk in on whatever his best mate and his sister were doing. After many hard, loud knocks and a lengthy silence the door opened. Scorpius was only wearing a pair of trousers and his hair was a mess, there was lippy on his throat and Albus glanced away quickly when he noticed a few hickies dotting Scorpius' chest. Thankfully Lily was nowhere in sight.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"I need to talk to my best mate."

"Like now?"

"Yes, now."

Scorpius sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Could you give me… a half hour?"

"Totally, meet me James and Kira's flat." Albus Disapparated after Scorpius nodded.

Again he reappeared outside of the actual flat. Instead of knocking, the way that he had for Scorpius and Lily, he flicked his wand opening the door.

"Al?"

Albus finally looked into the flat thankfully realizing that both James and Kira were fully dress and not engaged in any intimate activities.

"I need to talk to you, James," he said, walking in and closing the door behind him.

"What's up?" Kira wacked him in the chest without looking up from her Quidditch magazine. "Whhhaaa?"

"You're the host," she said. "Offer him a seat and something to drink. It's called manners."

"Yes, but you're the lady of the… flat. Shouldn't you be the one to offer him those things?"

"I would, but I'd thought that you valued your testicles."

"I don't know what that has to do with anything, Kira."

"It has to do with the fact that if you ever insinuate that it is somehow my job to take care of the flat just because I happen to be female I'll curse off your testicles so that no matter of magical medicine can reattach them."

(While Kira and James were having this… ah… stimulating conversation, Albus had removed his cloak and shoes and has made his way to kitchen grabbing a bottle of butterbeer from the fridge. He was under no illusion that he would be served by either Kira or James and certainly wasn't stupid enough to think that if he was offered anything there wouldn't be some sort of prank waiting for him in his cup.)

"Well, I don't see what the big deal is," James said (stupidly), "Al's been here before. Plus he isn't an imbecile. He can find a chair on his own and drink. Look he's done it." James pointed at his brother, who made a show of not getting involved.

"The point is that to be polite you really ought to offer these things to your guests and not expect them to get it on their own."

"Well, I didn't see you pulling yourself away from your Quidditch magazine to offer my tosser brother a seat and bloody drink."

"That's it." Kira pulled out her wand. James scrambled off the couch.

"Oh, come on!" Albus yelled. "I don't bloody well care about manners and what's polite, besides I'd rather swallow my own head than accept a drink or seat from either of you, it'd probably be less painful and far less humiliating. And Kira if you curse off my brother's testicles how are you ever going to have his sticky, naughty children?"

Kira lowered her wand. "Well, you've certainly got a point."

His testicles out of danger, James threw himself back onto the couch. "So, what's up, little bro?"

"Something weird happened today and I need some advice. Since every once and awhile you actually are a good brother I figured you might be able to help me out. But just in case I asked Scorpius to meet me here. He'll be by with Lily in a few minutes."

"You asked Lily to come?" James asked.

"No, but she'll trail after him anyway."

"Hmm… So, what's the weird thing that happened?"

"I went to Diagon Alley today, to get my school supplies-" Albus began.

"Because even though you're not Head Boy you're still anal, go on," James commented.

"-when I ran into-"

The door opened before Albus could finish. Lily and Scorpius arrived hand in hand, the picture of tidiness. Albus glanced away quickly when he remembered the love bites that littered his bestmate's chest. It was even worse that Persephone had given him a few love bites and she gave them to him while they were shagging. He didn't want to think about Scorpius and his sister doing… that.

The couple curled onto the last remaining chair, an overstuffed arm chair next to the fireplace, Lily sitting on Scorpius' lap. Albus flicked his wand, summoning two bottles of butterbeer for Kira and James' new guests. He didn't want to endure the manners argument again.

"What's so important that you had to interrupt my snogging time with my boyfriend?" Lily asked.

"We were just getting to that when you lot walked in," Kira said. "Without knocking I might add."

"Al went to get his school supplies today like the good little boy that he is when something weird happened," James said.

"What?" Scorpius asked.

"I dunno."

Four head turned to Albus who (after years of dealing with the impossibly short attention span his friends gave him he had learned to just keep quiet until the conversation came back his way) was sipping his drink patiently waiting his turn.

"When I ran into Anora Thomas," Albus said, begin where he'd left off before Lily and Scorpius had arrived.

His announcement had mixed responses. James looked confused (apropos), Kira like she was trying to figure out what was coming next (also apropos), Scorpius like he understood where this was going and for some reason Lily had gone pale.

"We got our supplies together and I'll be damned if she didn't spend the whole day flirting with me-"

"What part of this is weird?" James

"That's brilliant, Al!" Lily

"It's Persephone, isn't it?" Scorpius

"She's why this is confusing you." Kira

"You know, Kira and I were going to take a grown up nap…" James

"You should dump Lovelace and date Anora." Lily

"I don't think that'll go well, love." Scorpius

"Thank you, Scorpius," Albus said. "Finally one of you gets it. But her flirting with me isn't what was weird."

"Did she kiss you?" Scorpius asked.

"No, I would've gotten that. She… 'tripped' and 'righted herself' by grabbing my bum."

"So, she accidentally grabbed your bum," Lily said.

"I've done that," Kira said.

"So have I."

"How do you accidentally grab a bloke's bum?" Scorpius asked.

"Just like Albus described," Lily said.

"You walk behind your chosen target," Kira began. "You trip-" air quotes "-and grab onto the bloke's bum to-" more air quotes "-stay upright."

"You've done that to me," James said, surprised.

"Many times."

"You'd done that before we got together."

"Yes."

"Merlin, I'm an idiot."

"Yeah, no one's surprised," Albus said. "Now the bum grabbing and flirting might not have been what I thought. Hell, she might've been being nice or she might have actually tripped. I have no way of knowing. So that's the weird thing. The problem, as Scorpius and Kira have already figured out is Persephone."

"Dump her," Lily said, with irrational strength.

Albus squinted at his sister, confused. "I would but I'm worried."

"Worried that if you tell her you don't want to date her anymore she'll say something along the lines of, 'we were dating?'" Scorpius suggested.

"Exactly," Albus muttered. "How do you drop a girl you're not even sure you're dating?"

"Two things big brother," Lily said. "First, you're over complicating this. Just tell her you don't want to shag her anymore. I'm sure she won't care. And second, did Anora say anything about being Head Girl?"

"Baby, what does that have to do with anything?" Scorpius asked.

"She didn't say anything," Albus said. "And considering how I've treated her I think she deserves better than being told I don't want to shag her anymore."

"Especially since it isn't true," James muttered.

"Oh, how do you know that?" Lily asked.

"No man wants to stop shagging the slutty girl who just wants to shag and not talk-"

"And yet again you are one hundred percent wrong," Scorpius said.

"Whaaa? He's my brother, how in the hell do you know?"

"Because Albus isn't shallow, he wants to date a girl he actually has something in common with and that's Anora, not Persephone."

"Scorpius is actually right, James," Albus said.

"Well, who cares who's right? The point is that Albus should live it up while he can," James said.

"James," Albus sighed.

"Look at the facts, twenty years from now Albus will be having sex with his wife and she will probably be asleep-"

"I don't know why I bother," Albus said, getting up.

"Oh, fuck, Al. You always take this shit too seriously. Every guy is an ass every once and awhile you are too. So buck up and tell that girl you don't want do whatever it is you've been doing to her for the past few months anymore. Get yourself out before you forget the charm and get her pregnant."

"Now that was the first good advice you've given me in months."

"Ha! And all I had to do was tell you that one day you'll be shagging a woman who is unconscious."

Albus rolled his eyes.

Yet again his older, slightly stupider but genuinely loving brother had pulled through for him. Perhaps it was in his nature to over think, to make things more complicated than they needed to be. Honestly if Persephone didn't think they were a couple, he doubted that she would care if he ended whatever it was they were doing.

It was time for the madness to end.


	29. Now I'm Certain

A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. I've been trying to figure out what in hell I'm going to do after I graduate and it's been distracting me from important things like Harry Potter fanfiction. Well here it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, get used to it, I have.

"Whoever said parenting comes naturally never lived with the Potter/Weasley clan." – Me

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

Now I'm Certain

For the past three hours James had been sitting in the waiting room outside Victoire's private room where she was working very hard to get her baby the hell out of her body. James, for his part, was trying to find a comfortable position but found it utterly impossible. The whole day had been miserable for him starting at midnight when his alarm clock had begun screaming profanities because Uncle George had snuck into his and Kira's room the night before and changed when the alarm went off and charmed it so that neither of them could turn it off. They had had to destroy it completely thus making them late for work. Of course Uncle George refused to take any responsibility for their tardiness or apologize for the death of their alarm clock.

He also refused to get them a new one, claiming that they should have known better than to let him alone in their flat.

And then Victoire had gone into labor right before lunch and right after Kira had offered him a sexy nap after they ate. So for the first half hour of sitting around with his family in the waiting room, he'd been uncomfortably aroused. Annoyance made quick work of that.

Initially James had insisted that Kira and he didn't need to be there but his father had shown up and dragged them to St. Mungo's. Honestly, the whole bloody family was there! He didn't see why he had to be there too. Even Albus, Lily, Rose and Hugo were there though they were technically supposed to be at school. His Uncle Ron had gone to the Headmistress and she'd agreed to let them Floo to the hospital for the birth of the next generation of the family. Lily had been thrilled when they arrived because McGonagall had let Scorpius come with her when she insisted he was as much a part of their family as Kira. Uncle Ron had agreed and he'd been excused for the day as well.

Al wasn't as lucky with Head Girl Anora Thomas. Even if they'd been dating longer than a few weeks she wouldn't have been able to go to the hospital because with the Head Boy gone someone needed to keep order over the student body. Scorpius had jokingly told James that with Albus gone she would finally do her job. Apparently she had taken to shagging Albus in broom closets during patrols and Scorpius had gotten an eyeful over the past few weeks not only in broom closets but in the Head Dorms as well. Now Scorpius refused to look into her room for any reason.

While Scorpius had been taking the mickey on Al Lily had sat next to him, her face scrunched up unhappily. James couldn't blame her. Hearing your boyfriend talk about walking in on his mate shagging his girlfriend who was probably nude at the time had to leave a bad taste in her mouth. James would have told him to shut it if his mate didn't look so happy. It was the first time in a long time that Scorpius seemed entirely unburdened by any angst. Albus had written him a few days before telling him (among other things) about their buddy Malfoy. According to Albus Malfoy was sleeping with their sister. James decided to ignore that. It was better for his friendship with Scorpius if Malfoy and Lily just didn't do that. (When they got married, they still wouldn't do that. When they had children, it would be a miracle.)

James glanced over to his sister. It seemed that… taking her relationship… to the next level hadn't done as much for her as it had for Scorpius. Damn it she didn't look happy at all anymore. James was about to suggest he and Scorpius take a walk to talk about how aware he was of Lily's emotional state (you know trying to be a good brother by sticking his nose where it didn't belong) when the door to the ward opened and in walked Astoria Malfoy. The older woman stopped short at the crowd of redheads, but quickly recovered looking through the bodies for her son, James was sure, because when she spotted him laughing with Albus her eyes were glued to him and brimming with tears. James tugged on Kira's hand and nodded in Astoria's direction.

"Elbow, Scorpius," she whispered. James did, when the other boy looked at him, he tilted his chin in Mrs. Malfoy's direction.

The waiting room was silent for a moment. James could see his whole family gearing up to protect Scorpius if necessary. He wasn't sure if the young Auror wanna-bee was aware of it or not but it struck James that his family should react so strongly to the potential threat of Astoria, a woman Scorpius claimed to love dearly. But really it wasn't all that odd that they would want to rally around him. As soon as his father had welcomed him into their house Scorpius had been considered by most to be part of the family. Just as had been done for Kira and Teddy. There wasn't a doubt in any of their minds, James realized, that Lily would one day marry the pureblood. James glanced at Grand Molly and Grandpa Arthur, they both look ready to pull out their wands if Astoria so much as made Scorpius grimace.

James blinked. When he'd befriended Scorpius all those years ago he'd done so mostly to spite his Uncle Ron who stupidly told Rose to stay away from him. Being told to stay away from somthing ensured James' desire to get as close to it as possible. Albus had followed suit with Scorpius. For him it was mostly because he had so many classes with Scorpius it made more sense to study and learn with him. Lily got close when she fell in love him. But the family refused to break faith with their own. When James and Albus made friends so did just about everyone else. No one questioned it. Not even after they found out everything that had happened during the Second War. It was as if they all understood that Scorpius had nothing to do with that.

"Scorpius," Astoria took a few steps towards her son but found her way blocked by a wall of redheads. "Please let me see my son," she begged.

Scorpius stood up and pushed his way through the Weasleys, Lily right behind him. He came face to face with her, but didn't speak. Astoria reached up to cup her boy's cheek, before her hand was half way up there were at least ten wands pointed at her. "Oh for the love of Merlin!" Lily snapped. "You're all so hex-happy. She's his mother. Let them alone a moment."

Very reluctantly the family pulled back, but all stayed close enough to come to Scorpius' aid if need be. Lily kissed his cheek, whispered in his ear and took the empty seat next to her oldest brother. Though James knew Lily wasn't particularly happy she kept her eyes trained on Scorpius as his mother stroked his cheeks and whispered to him. All at once James understood something he hadn't before. Not just about Lily's relationship with Scorpius but Astoria's relationship her son and all relationships between parents and children. Even though Scorpius had hurt his mother and was probably the reason Lily wasn't all that happy, both women loved him anyway. James likened it to how his parents always forgave him when he caused mischief at school and at home. He didn't make their lives easier, every once and awhile he made them harder but they still loved him.

It was a true love. An unconditional love. A love that forgave even those things it could not overlook.

James looked at Kira. They shared that kind of love. They would get mad at each other. Row like you wouldn't believe but they would forgive each other and fall even deeper in love. Their love would evolve taking on new hardships and bending around the things that challenged them.

"Could we go somewhere more private?" Astoria asked, well aware of how many ears were listening in on their conversation.

"They'll all find out whatever you have to say to me eventually anyway," Scorpius said, his voice a bit detached. "We don't keep secrets…" _in this family,_ remained unsaid but understood. "Last I heard you were pregnant."

Astoria opened and closed her mouth a few times. "I-I thought I was- or I was for a little while- but I-"

"I understand," Scorpius said, gently. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm taking fertility potions. They're at the experimental stage right now so I have to come into the hospital once a week to take it."

"You're taking experimental potions to get pregnant. Replacing me is that important to you?"

"No! No one is replacing you!"

"Dad and Grandfather are!"

"They just want what's best for you," Astoria insisted.

"They want me to fall in line with them. They want me to become them. My dreams, desires and wishes don't mean anything to them."

"That is _not_ true, Scorpius."

"If I moved back into Malfoy Manor would I be allowed to date Lily? Pursue my dreams of becoming an Auror? Stay friends with James and Albus or any of the Weasleys? If I asked Lily to marry me would I be disowned again?"

Astoria's eyes began to water. James looked away. His eyes landed on his father. The Potter patriarch was attempting to give Scorpius and his mother privacy but wasn't doing any better of a job than anyone else listening in. Unlike everyone else though, he just looked sad. James wasn't sure what about. It's not like Scorpius had made any accusations that weren't true. They would lose him forever if he moved back into Malfoy Manor.

"Astoria Malfoy." The staring contest between mother and son ended with the receptionist calling Mrs. Malfoy over to take her potion. No one approached Scorpius for a while after his mother left the waiting room. Eventually he hung his head and Lily came up behind, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"I should be enough," he whispered.

"You are enough," Lily assured him.

"Did you notice that she didn't even attempt to deny that I would be disowned if I married you?"

"On the bright side you've already been disowned," Kira said, uncertain. "So, you kinda already know what it's like."

"Plus you'll always have a place to stay," James offered. "Kira and I have an extra room and I'm pretty sure my mum and dad won't kick you out until you get your own place."

"I know it sucks right now, mate," Albus said. "But things are bound to get better."

"Can't get much worse," James said.

"You guys are so fucking insensitive!" Lily shouted.

"Language, young lady!" Ginny snapped.

"Well they are, Mum."

"And they always have been you ought to be used to it by now," Harry said, grimly. "Don't be too hard on the woman," he was speaking to the whole family now, "this is difficult situation for all involved."

"Harry's right." Ginny walked over to Scorpius and took his hand. "We'll support you. No matter what."

"Thank you, Mrs. Potter," he said. "But I have to doubt how happy you would be if I dropped your daughter to marry a pureblood my family approved of."

Ginny shook her head and smiled. "I didn't welcome you into my home on the condition that you marry my daughter."

"Thanks, Mum," Lily mumbled.

"James is right about one thing, though," she said, ignoring her daughter. "You are more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you'd like. We love having you around."

Scorpius sighed and looked at Harry. "Do you think I should talk to my Dad?"

"It couldn't hurt to try," but he seemed unconvinced.

"Yeah," Kira whispered to James, "but it could hurt to get drugged and Unforgivibled into doing whatever his family wants him to."

"Unforgivibled, Kira?"

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

"I dunno, Kira. It seems unlikely. If anything he'd of done that to begin with."

"I was talking about Lucius."

James clenched his jaw and looked over at his mate, but he was gone and so was Lily.

"You're Dad took them back to school," Kira said.

James sighed. "This sucks."

"You betcha, baby."

"Do you think if I hadn't…?"

"For what Lily's told me he knew he'd have to butt heads with his family at one point or another if he wanted to follow his dreams. Don't you think its best that it happened while he had friends to rally around him?"

"Way to alleviate the guilt, Kiki," James said, bumping his shoulder against his.

"No prob."

James' face scrunched up in irritation. He was about to deliver a witty reply when Teddy cut him off. The Metamorphmagus burst through the door to the waiting room with a giant grin on his face and pronounced, "I'm a father!" The family bombarded him like a tidal wave, Grand Molly the first to squeeze the life out of him. James and Kira stayed put, content to learn everything they needed to about the new addition via the shouts and happy yells ringing through the waiting room. "A girl! It's a girl! Little Nymphadora Lupin. For my Mum, you know?" James heard over the roar of overly excited family members. "Let me go get her. The Healer wanted them to bond for a while but she said something about letting Victoire sleep while she still can! I wanna put my baby girl in the arms of her godparents!" Teddy swept back into Victoire's room.

"I wonder who they picked as godparents," Kira mused.

James shrugged. "Would he be allowed to make my Dad godfather when my Dad is his own godfather?"

"Can't see why not. You think he'll make your parents godfather?"

"Dunno who else he'd pick. Whole family is nutters. What other option had he got?"

And this dear reader is called foreshadowing because a moment after James wondering who, in a family of nutters, would be made baby Nymphadora Lupin's godparents, Teddy elbowed his way through the crowd to James and Kira and laid his daughter in the arms of the latter. The waiting room was quiet. "Don't look so surprised, Kira. And James if you vomit on your goddaughter she'll never forgive you," Teddy said all of this with a self satisfied smile on his face.

"He wants us?"

"Us? As in me and you?"

"Why would he want us?"

"What's Victoire on that she'd agree to that?"

"What's Teddy on that he'd suggest it?"

"Us?"

"You know we can all hear you?"

"Shut up, Albus," James suggested. "Teddy, have you lost your mind?"

He laughed. "Trust me, James. This is meant to be. You and Kira can babysit. You know practice. Plus you'll be married in a hot second so it's perfect."

"Looks like Lupin proposed for you, Potter," Kira said. "You'll have to make up the lack of romance with a giant ass diamond."

"Kira!" Grand Molly screeched. "Watch your mouth around the baby! You're in charge of her moral upbringing!"

James pretended to ignore the horrified look gracing the faces of many of his family members. "Look at that, Teddy!" he exclaimed. "We're screwing up already. Hell the last time we had an argument Kira threatened to castrate me. We might not even have kids at this rate. Which means we don't need practice."

"Most people would be flattered," Teddy harrumphed.

"When have we been most people?" Kira cooed at the baby in her arms.

"Kira!" James yelled. "Don't get chummy with the baby!"

"Sorry, my inner Mummy took over. She's just so cute." Kira grinned down at Nymphadora before covering her chubby cheeks with kisses. She looked mischievously up at James and whispered, "Think about it, babe. An innocent mind and soul who it is in our care. Her _moral_ upbringing is _our_ responsibility. Think about it."

James perked up and stared at his girlfriend. Her beautiful red hair a curtain around the tiny baby who's hair just mimicked hers exactly, her eyes the same brown as his own. James felt his heart seize in his chest. For a moment he could see it. Kira grinning evilly over their own child, planning all the naughty things they would teach their baby, all the mischief their little one would wreak on Hogwarts and for once the thought of a tiny version of himself wasn't all that scary. As long as he had Kira by his side he could handle anything.

Even a son asking him about sex.

"We'll do this on a few conditions," James said, certain.

Teddy snorted and rolled his eyes. "And those are?"

"We're not changing nappies, so teach her to use the toilet. Also just because you brought her to us clean doesn't mean you'll be getting her back in the same state. If you ask what she's covered in we are contractually obligated to refuse to answer and before you freak out about us testing products for the store out on her, relax. It'll only be products designed to make babies more interesting. Agreed?"

"I would be the world's worst father if I agreed to any of that."

"Your parental acuity is already questionable considering the fact you picked those two in the first place," Albus mumbled.

"Those are our conditions!"

"What if we agreed to clean her up if whatever she's covered in was likely to stain the furniture?" Kira offered.

"Whatever you two are cooking up, I'm very interested," Uncle George said.

"Duly noted, boss," Kira said.

"You two are impossible," Teddy sighed.

"You're the one who asked us to be godparents," James said, laying blame where blame was due, firmly at Teddy's feet.

"The only reason I'm agreeing to this is because I don't actually believe you would put my child in danger."

James and Kira high fived and for the most part kept that promise. I say 'for the most part' because the Second Nymphadora to grace the halls of Hogwarts did her godparents, and let's be honest her grandfather, proud by taking up the mantle of troublemaker and successfully dumping a tub of flooberworms on Headmaster Longbottom, an infraction she only accomplished by balancing on a broom in the Entrance Hall, something her parents considered very dangerous and an idea she got from her godparents thus making it their fault.


	30. Use Your Head

A/N: This is a little thank you for all the reviews! I love you guys!

"Love yourself for who you are, but never stop growing, developing and changing." – Danielle Juarez

**Chapter Thirty**

Use Your Head

Scorpius lay with Lily draped over him reading a letter Albus had slipped under his door. They were lounging in post orgasmic bliss in his dorm room. Across the hall he was sure Albus and Anora were in much the same position. But he doubted it was for the same reason. Sure Al seemed to genuinely like Anora which was an improvement to Persephone who he claimed was the bane of his existence when they weren't shagging. The problem was that Scorpius had caught Albus watching Persephone whenever she was flitting thoughtlessly through the halls or the library or the Great Hall.

Sure when Anora was around all his attention was focused on her but Scorpius had to question the depth of his mate's feelings for the Head Girl. And he liked Anora. She was smart but could be a goofball when the mood struck her, she was serious about her duties even though Scorpius liked to tease her about her extra curriculars with Albus and she was respected by a majority of the student body. Truly she was the perfect Head Girl and they got along, it was more than he could have hoped for.

The only thing that complicated his relationship with the Head Girl was Lily. It seemed like she was glued to his side whenever Anora was around. The only alone time he had with Anora was before and after Prefect meetings when they worked on Head business. And then she was waiting outside. It struck him as odd because she'd never been so clingy in the past. He needed to talk to someone about it because the only thing he could think was that she was worried about him and Anora. Which was ridiculous. Anora was pretty enough but he loved Lily. No other girl could hold a candle to her for that fact alone.

Lily finished reading Albus' note and moved off his chest to the side so she could look him in the eye. "Victoire and Teddy had a girl they named Nymphadora Lupin for his mum. Apparently they named James and Kira godparents which is mental," she said.

Scorpius snorted. "How'd James and Kira take it?"

She opened the letter and read aloud. "They babbled incoherently for a bit. Kira swore and was chastised by Grand Molly who reminded her she was now in charge of the baby's moral upbringing which inspired fear in all who heard. They agreed eventually after making it clear they intended to experiment with baby products on the poor child."

Scorpius laughed and watched the look on Lily's face. She looked like she adored him. He felt his heart expand in his chest. She had to know she was it for him. She'd ruined him for all other women. For who could compare to her? "I love you, Lily," he whispered.

"I love you, Scorpi."

He snatched the letter out of her hand and tossed it on the floor. "Come here."

She blushed, an unconscious reaction that overcame her whenever he reached for her. She only blushed for him. It made her so vulnerable to him, so exposed. It was an awesome responsibility. It reminded him that he was her first lover, hopefully her only lover, and that she gave him something precious whenever she gave herself to him.

Lily crawled into his arms, her legs straddling his, and she kissed the corner of his mouth. He smiled.

Forty minutes later Scorpius closed the door to his room, fully clothed with an unconscious, exhausted Lily sprawled in his bed. He turned around to find Albus doing the exact same thing to Anora's door. They caught each other's eye and froze. Albus straightened. "I'll not ask what you were doing and you'll not ask what I was doing. Agreed?" he offered.

Scorpius imagined telling his best mate that he'd just shagged his sister to unconsciousness and shivered. "Deal." They entered the small common room. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Nothing to do with my sister, I hope."

"Actually it is but not in… that way," Scorpius added hastily.

"Is this about how she was down yesterday?" Albus asked, plopping down on the couch before the fire. Scorpius stared at his friend.

"Yesterday?" Panic brewing in the pit of his stomach. "What was wrong yesterday? Was it my mother? Did that woman upset my Lily?" he demanded.

"To be honest mate I didn't even notice. James pointed it out during dinner and asked me to talk to you about it. If James noticed there's a bloody problem, mate."

Scorpius fell into the cushion next to Albus. "Did he say what he thought it was?"

"Well, what did you want to talk about?"

"She's-Lily- has been… really clingy when Anora's around. I was worried she thought- or she's jealous or something." Al didn't bat an eye.

"Does she have anything to be jealous of?"

"No!" he shouted. "I love Lily. Anora's great but- and forgive me, mate- but she doesn't hold a candle to my Lily."

"As a brother I'm glad to hear it. On the other hand I'm really in no position to judge Anora against my sister. James said something about Lil looking down when you were taking the mickey about catching Anora and I shagging. Which only happened once, you tosser! He said she probably didn't like the thought of you seeing another bird naked. Makes sense. I don't like that you saw her naked either."

"I only saw her legs, mate, so relax. Honestly I saw more of you," he snapped.

"Well did you tell Lily what walked in on? Exactly?"

"No! Why would my girlfriend want to know I'd seen her brother shagging his girlfriend? Don't you think she'd find that disgusting?" Scorpius asked.

"There's no reason to give her details. But trust me girls just want to know when things like that happen. When you spring stories like that on your girl in public she gets either pissed or upset. James seemed to think she was upset. Apparently James dumped a story like that, about groping Janie Finnigan when they went to Hogsmeade in his fourth year, on Kira at a party and he got to sleep on the couch for a week," Albus said.

Scorpius rubbed his forehead. His life was such a bloody mess. His mother was still begging him to just duck his head and submit, his father still pretended he didn't exist and his grandfather still sent him enraged, threatening letters. His family life was far too complicated right now. On top of that he also had his school work, NEWTs coming up at the end of the year and Head duties. He just wished one aspect of his life could be easy. Scorpius certainly wasn't stupid enough to think that any relationship would or should be easy but why did it have to be so damn complicated? Everything he did he had to think about Lily.

Would reacting this way upset her? Would not doing his homework disappoint her? Would telling her about his grandfather's threats scare her?

In that respect walking in on Albus and Anora didn't seem like that big of deal. Honestly when he'd entered Anora's room to find her ankles locked around Albus' neck and his naked rump pumping- he hadn't wanted to think about it much less tell anyone (even Lily) about it. Teasing Albus about it at the hospital had been a momentary decision made because he was so happy and wanted to make his mates laugh. He hadn't thought it would be so ruddy problematic.

"Thanks, Al," Scorpius said, standing up.

"No problem, mate." He left the Head Dorms confident he wouldn't get caught or punished for roaming the halls after curfew, even though he done it right in front of the Head Boy. Well Scorpius wasn't going to do anything about it.

Scorpius went back to his room. He leaned his head against the wall and watched Lily sleep. The walls were wood paneling; a dark mahogany that cast the room in darkness save for the rays of moon light that caressed his love. She was so uninhibited with her body, so trusting. His sheet was tucked around her hips, she lay on her stomach facing away from him. All he could see was her flawless back, miles of creamy skin peeking out from the firey strains of her hair.

Scorpius banged his head against the wall. How could he be so stupid? She was something precious and he just kept upsetting her. How he could possibly think that she would be okay with him talking about a naked girl (or any naked girl, her included) he didn't know.

"Merlin, I'm an idiot," he muttered, banging his head against the wall again. The paneling split and a ring fell from the small niche the panel hid. Scorpius rubbed his head and picked up the ring thinking for a moment of what Sirius would have to say about his current situation.

"You are an idiot, but I'd blame that on the inbreeding," an unfamiliar said from behind him.

Scorpius turned slowly. There was the barely corporal form of someone who looked almost exactly like Harry Potter, but with brown eyes. Brown glaring eyes.

"Oh, like you have any right to talk, Potter," another voice snapped. Sirius appeared next to him. "As I recall the Potters were purebloods until you fell in love with Miss Evans."

"We never married cousins!"

"I'd really like to see you prove that!"

"Could you two pipe down? Lily is sleeping and no one knows I have this," Scorpius said, holding up the ring.

"Oh, Lily's sleeping?" James Potter Sr. said. "My granddaughter is sleeping in your bed? My naked granddaughter is in your bed!" Sirius got a hold on James before the spirit-man-thing could lunge at Scorpius and dragged him out of the room.

Lily's head popped up a second later and gazed blurrily up at her boyfriend. "What was that?"

He thought for a second of being honest, then of lying. Neither appealed to him. So he went for something close to the truth. "It was nothing, love. Go back to sleep." He rushed out of his room and cast a silencing charm.

James was stomping around in front of the fire place and Sirius was lounging on the couch. "In all this time, this bloody dorm hasn't changed a bit. Has it, Prongs?"

"I was Head Boy, you know that Malfoy?" James asked him.

"Yes, Harry told me," he muttered, utterly confused. "I'm sorry-"

"You ought to be!" James snapped. "My son trusts you in his home and you're taking advantage of his daughter! And making her cry left, right and center. I ought to take you back with me!"

"Bloody hell, Prong would you cool it?" Sirius demanded. "He was just doing what she wanted him to. It's the same with all Potters. Starting with you, mate."

"It's my fault that pureblood son of a Death Eater is having his way with my innocent granddaughter!"

"I don't know how much attention you've been paying to your grandchildren, but that girl is far from innocent-"

"Yes! Because he's besmirched her!" James pointed accusingly at Scorpius.

"Oh you bloody moron. You Potters are all alike. When you a get a bit stuck in your teeth you just can't let it go. You got stuck on Lily when you were eleven for Merlin's sake and never let it go no matter how much she resisted you. Your granddaughter is exactly the same way with this one," Sirius gestured in Scorpius' direction with his thumb. "She wanted to shag him and nothing was about to stop her. Face it, mate. This is your fault."

James huffed and sat down.

The room was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry, but how are two here?"

"I thought we went over this before, Scorpius," Sirius said. "It's the ring."

"I didn't mean that. I meant I barely thought about you, Sirius, but both of you are here. I was under the impression that I had to roll it in my hand three times and think about someone for them to show up."

"Well, how much does anyone actually know about dark objects?" James asked. "That stone has been missing for centuries and now you're hiding it in the wall. There's no way of knowing all the things it's capable of."

"Like the Cloak, it's probably best that it remains that way," Sirius said.

"Yeah, right… So… what brings you here?"

"You need to keep your paws off my granddaughter," James grumbled.

"That's not gonna happen, Potter and she'd be miserable if he did, so forget it, mate," Sirius asked.

"Fine," James snapped. "But so help me if you hurt her-"

"You'll what?" Sirius laughed. "Walk through him?"

"Why are you on his side? You're my best mate! You should be on my side!" James insisted.

"I feel for the kid, mate! We're basically the same bloke. Think about it. Devilishly handsome, pureblood, disowned before our seventeenth year, smarter than all those around us, irresistible to the ladies, best mates with a Potter and did I mention good looking?"

"Don't be dense, Black. You and Malfoy aren't anything alike. You know what his grandfather did to my daughter-in-law? What his father let happen to my son's friend? How his father tried to kill my son? Your family wasn't half as bad as his still is."

Scorpius backed away from James Potter until he hit the wall. Was he fooling himself? How could he possibly overcome all of that? He was about to drop the ring when a pillow went hurtling through the air and then through James' head. He turned and saw Lily (dressed in one of his shirts that covered all the necessary bits) standing with her hands on her hips glaring daggers at her grandfather. Both ghosts and Scorpius gaped at her.

"I don't know what's going on or if I'm dreaming but not even my subconscious is allowed to lump my Scorpi in with the evil acts of his family during the war. I've been thinking a lot about this. I don't think Scorpi's father is a bad man-"

"Lily-" Scorpius began.

"Hush, Scorpi! This is my dream. I don't think your father had a choice. If he wasn't like his father, if didn't fall in line what choice would he have had? He didn't have friends like you or you Sirius. He didn't have any where to go and wasn't as brave as either of you. In the middle of a war how can we fairly judge a man? Even worse when faced with the possibility of losing your child forever how rational are you going to be? I think he's hurting and hoping another baby will make it at least a little better. The only way this is going get better, Scorpi, is if you forgive your family. Not just for disowning you, but for everything. You're never going to be able to love them again if you don't forgive them for everything they've done. You'll never find peace in yourself, with yourself. And how can you give yourself entirely to me, how can you love me if you can't love yourself." She crossed her arms. "I'll be sure to tell you all of this in the morning when I wake up." With that she turned sharply and went back to his room.

"Well, there you go, Prongs," Sirius said. "I told you she loved him and wouldn't be happy without him. Honestly I'm offended, cause we're related. Everything you said about his family, is about my family too."

James clenched his jaw. "She does seem to like him."

"Oh, use your head! She loves him, your son respects him and your grandsons trust him. He's a good bloke. In spite of being a Malfoy."

Scorpius slid down the wall to the floor. The bickering between the two Marauding ghosts faded to the background, while Lily's words floated through his mind. He'd never considered the possibility that he didn't love himself but it made sense. There was a lot of self loathing in how he regarded himself and his family. The belief that the darkness of his family (perhaps not his father) was somewhere, lingering inside of his waiting to break loose was hateful and all that hate was directed inward. When he sat down with the Auror psychologist after the Boggart incident he'd never been able to explain his fear or release it. How was he to be successful as an Auror if he couldn't realize where his fear stemmed from? An insecurity. Self loathing. You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else. How can you achieve your goals if you don't think you deserve to? It was like all of the sudden everything was so clear. So obvious. All thanks to Lily.

"You two gotta go," he said, standing up. He had to thank her.

"What?" James

"Wait-" Sirius

He stuffed the ring into his pocket. They vanished as soon as he released the golden band. Scorpius rushed to his room, stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed with Lily. He woke her with kisses and made love to her whispering over and over again, "Thank you, thank you, thank you…"

**A/N: Don't be too hard on James he is Lily's grandfather and he only wants what's best for her. Plus the Malfoy's were on the other side of a war that resulted in the death of himself and his wife. A little animosity is understandable.**


	31. From the Mouth of a Muggle

A/N: I've been really inspired lately. Here's another chapter!

"Never disregard good advice just because of who it's coming from." – Danielle Juarez

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, get used to it, I have.

**Chapter Thirty One**

From the Mouth of a Muggle

Lily glanced around the living room. Perched on Scorpius' lap she could see all around her, down the hall to the kitchen and up the stairs to the landing. Since the family had rapidly expanded as of late it had been decided that the holidays would be spent at the much larger Potter house this year to relieve some of the stress on Grand Molly (she still insisted on cooking and decorating, but at least she didn't have to clean her house after Hurricane All the Damn Grandchildren came through). With Scorpius and Kira as long time staples at every family gathering other cousins had begun inviting their friends and significant others. The Potter house was filled to bursting with friends and family. Parents intermingled with older children, the younger set upstairs running around and riding kiddy brooms they were too big for.

Across the room Hugo was dogging Ruby's every step as she wondered around the room looking at the moving pictures. Now that her brother was discovered to be a wizard she was a regular around the Weasley house and had been invited for Christmas as a sign of good will. Lily overheard Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione talking to her Mum and Dad about the whole situation. They were worried that Hugo was still upset about how they'd reacted when they found out about her. They wanted her to feel welcome. Harry had suggested inviting her for Christmas and thankfully Ruby's parents had allowed it. The rumor around the family tree was that her parents wanted to get in good with the only wizarding family they knew so that their son would be prepared when he had to face that world on his own.

The white blonde blue eyed beauty captured the hearts of many of the male cousins with her effervescent smiles and happy disposition. Lily couldn't imagine how she was so calm and relaxed. She would have called it an act but no one could that good an actress under the mountain of stress her family dropped on anyone who dared fall in love with one of their own. After watching Ruby interact with Hugo for half an hour, Lily decided something about the pair and moved off of Scorpius lap. Ruby was madly in love with her cousin. While she smiled at Fred and Chucky and their halfhearted flirting, it was nothing to the look that overcame her face when her gaze caught on Hugo. Her eyes went wide first, a slow smile overtook her lips before joy rule over her features. It was truly lovely to behold. Lily imagined that was what she looked like when she gazed on Scorpius.

Rose was curled in a chair by the fire with a book tucked in her lap. Whenever anyone got close she snapped it close. _She's hiding something_, Lily decided. Lily played absent mindedly with Scorpius' hair while she watched her cousin. They hadn't been close since Teddy and Victoire's wedding when Lily bungled everything up. But as Lily watched her cousin, making googly eyes at a book, she began to formulate a thought. Rose began stroking the page lovingly. Lily climbed back onto Scorpius' lap and sat up very straight. It looked like Rose was hiding a picture between the pages of her book. Lily leaned forward to get a better look when—

"Whoo there, love!" Scorpius gripped Lily's hips and pulled her back towards his chest to keep her from toppling to the floor. He wrapped her in his arms and laughed. "I gotcha, love," he whispered.

Lily blushed, recognizing the look in his eyes and the small, arrogant smile on his lips. Lily brought her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek against his. Slowly both moved to kiss. They stayed locked in their loving embrace until someone cleared their throat. Lily looked up at her Uncle Ron. He raised an eyebrow at her. She matched his gaze, shamelessly. "What?"

He rolled his eyes. "Dinner's ready. Could you sit next to Ruby? Make her feel welcome?"

"Sure, Uncle Ron."

Both Lily and Scorpius got up. She watched Rose tuck her thin book into her pocket. An odd way to treat reading material. As she passed Lily took hold of Ruby's arm. "Come sit by me. I want to hear all about your Muggle school." They sat down next to each other, Hugo by Ruby and Scorpius to Lily's left. Ruby happily chatted while Lily watched Rose.

The older girl kept to herself throughout the meal, ignoring the happy couples around her. Very pointedly ignoring them. Kira and James were right next to her "feeding" (i.e. throwing food at) each other. On Rose's other side was four month old Nymphadora covered in food fighting off her mother who was trying in vain to wipe her face clean. Teddy sat happy by his wife laughing as Dora pressed her tiny dirty hands to her mother's cheek. The parents were talking and laughing all around them. Grand Molly sat at the head of the table next to Grandpa Arthur pestering her parents about James and Kira. Apparently Grand Molly thought it was past time they were married and meant to start planning the wedding. For their part Kira and James didn't seem to notice or else didn't care. Even cousins without a boyfriend or girlfriend had a mate with them. All except Rose.

Lily screwed up her face in thought. That wouldn't do. That wouldn't do at all. She might have wrecked things between Rose and Wood but that didn't mean she couldn't try to make things at least a little better. She returned her attention to Ruby.

"… we have these things called lockers in public school. It's where you keep your books and things between classes. Hugo tells me you just lug your books around to all your classes. That doesn't sound terribly nice."

"Yeah, it's a real pain in the back," Lily said. "Hey, do you know a guy who might be into Rose?" she whispered. "Like a Muggle bloke?"

Ruby blinked. "Most of the guys I know are idiots," she said.

"Oh, they're all idiots but if they're nice maybe we could set Rose up."

"Hugo told me about what happened with her ex-"

"I know. I was upset and lashed out and now she's all alone and I feel ruddy terrible because I'm so happy with Scorpius and she's got no one. I just want to make it better. We used to be close I'd just like to make it better somehow. We probably won't ever be as close as we used to be, but if I could get her to forgive me…"

Ruby looked at Rose. "She's alone, but not lonely I don't think. Maybe we should just try talking to her."

"I was wondering about what was in her book," Lily said.

"What do you mean?"

"Before dinner she was stroking the page. It looked like she was hiding a picture between the pages. Scorpius distracted me before I could see what it was. I love my cousin, I want to help her, but I don't know how."

"I always tell Hugo that it's best to listen when you don't understand someone. If you really want to help Rose or get close to her, I think the best possible thing to do is listen."

Lily blinked. "I think I get why Hugo's in love with you."

Ruby blushed and smiled. After dinner everyone went back to their former amusements. Lily dragged Ruby away from Hugo over to Rose. Kira was sitting next to her whispering. "Time for some girl talk," she said. "Let's go over to Scorpius' flat so we won't be disturbed."

The four girls abandoned the family and rushed to the garage through the cold. Kira lit a fire in the hearth and they sat on the floor around it to warm up. For awhile they sat in silence. "This doesn't work, does it?" Lily asked. "I'm the only one here who can talk about her boyfriend. I don't want to hear about my brother," she said to Kira, "and I'm sure Rose doesn't want to hear about her brother. So… who wants to hear about Scorpius?" she laughed humorlessly.

"Ohh! How's he in bed?" Kira asked.

"Kira!" Rose exclaimed. "I'm sure they haven't done… that." Lily blushed bright red. The color leached from Rose's face. "Oh."

"It's just been since summer… since he told me he loves me," Lily said.

"How nice."

Lily grimaced at the tortured look on Rose's face. Guilt speared her. "Rose, I… I don't know how to say this-"

"You need to tell her, Rose," Kira said.

"Tell me what?" Lily demanded.

"You have to understand, Lily. I'm not upset that you're with Scorpius. I'm upset that he's… been with you like that and Stephen's been holding out on me," Rose said.

Lily stared at her cousin in disbelief. Nothing about what Rose just said made any sense. But in another way everything made sense. The googly eyes at the picture in the book. The picture must have been of Stephen. That was why Ruby felt Rose was alone but not lonely.

"For how long?" she asked.

"We got back together the summer after we broke up. We've been dating in secret every since and you cannot tell anyone! Least of all my parents. They would be upset."

"They'll be devastated!" Ruby exclaimed.

"We're going to 'make up' during graduation." The other three girls were quiet.

"When is anything that simplistic with our family?" Lily asked.

"It'll work out. We'll tell my parents that we worked things out and that we'll be moving in together. I'll begin my work as a Quidditch reporter and everything will work out. Because it's got to."

"You're mad if you think Uncle Ron will let you move in with a bloke you just got back together with!" Lily said.

"Well he won't be able to stop me! I'm an adult, by that time I'll be able to do what I want without asking his permission or worrying about him paying the cousins to stalk me. It may be mad but it's all I've got. I'm dying of frustration over here. I honestly don't know how I'm going to make it to graduation."

"I can't blame you," Kira said. "Shagging is pretty awesome."

"No specifics! If we're going to talk about this, there can be no details!" Lily insisted.

Kira rolled her eyes. "So we all know that Scorpius is shagging Lily's brains out regularly, it's no secret that James rocks my world and Wood isn't giving it to Rosie- care to tell us how Hugo's seeing to your needs, Ruby?" Kira wiggled her eyebrows.

Ruby turned… well ruby and Rose groaned. "We decided to wait until we can be together properly."

"Did you both actually decide or did Hugo insist?" Rose asked, grumpily.

"I explained how I always wanted it to be special. We need to treat it like it's something special for it to be special. We both need to graduate, we both need to have proper jobs and we need to be living together. That way when the moment comes, it comes naturally. An extension of our love… so I suppose if anyone insisted it was me," Ruby said.

"I said something like that to James about five minutes before I jumped him." Kira scratched her head. "To his credit he stopped me and asked if I was sure. I Silenced the door and he stopped asking questions… you know I've never been able to find the knickers I wore that day. I wonder if James-"

"We're wondering into the realm of too much information!" Lily snapped.

"Well fine! Why don't you start talking then? And since no one here is related to Scorpius you can provide us with all the juicy details." Kira rubbed her hands together, evilly. "Start with the size, shape and length of his-"

"Kira!" Lily exclaimed.

"You're the one who wanted some girl talk."

"I wanted to talk to Rose because I was feeling guilty about breaking her and Stephen up, which apparently didn't stick." Lily crossed her arms.

"I almost hate to say so but… I actually think it's better this way," Rose admitted. "Before, when everyone knew, I couldn't so much as kiss my boyfriend without being interrupted by one relative or another. This way we can actually get used to each other… you know, physically, without worrying about some family member sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. If anything breaking up was the best possible thing for our relationship. He's more my boyfriend now than he ever was before."

"So I helped!" Lily smiled and Rose snorted.

Kira laughed. "Now that that's all sorted out I have a question for you Lily dearest… how often are you in Scorpius' room without him around?"

"Probably never, why?"

"Well it means you've never gotten the chance to snoop through his stuff. And you do now."

"Scorpius doesn't keep things from me," Lily said, a bit uncertain.

"Course he does," Kira insisted. "He's his own man. Those sorts of blokes always have secrets. James doesn't tell me loads of stuff. I find out via snooping." Kira got up and went into Scorpius' room with the others following.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Ruby said.

"I agree," Lily said. "It makes it seem like I don't trust him."

Kira pulled open a drawer from his writing desk. "Well do you trust him?"

"Of course!"

She flipped through a few letters, paused on one and cursed.

"What is it?" Lily exclaimed, snatching the letter from Kira's hand. Ruby and Rose read over Lily's shoulder. Their eyes went wide all at the same time.

_Grandson,_

_You will have to forgive the lengths I've had to go to get your attention. I fear you will not. I know you are well aware of all that went on during the war but I think you are forgetting the role your father and I played. I know that if you did you wouldn't be acting so foolishly. Malfoy's marry purebloods. You are not going to ruin that noble tradition by marrying and procreating with that Potter Weasley trash. It's only a matter of time before I find some way of convincing you of the error in your ways. Every day your mother wears down more of your father's resistance. Soon all he will care about is getting his son back. Don't let this sentiment warm you. The only way you will be allowed back into this house is when you come hands red with the filthy blood of that whore. It is long past time you proved you are a Malfoy. Because you are a Malfoy Scorpius. It's in you. Lurking behind your misguided affections. Waiting for the right moment to strike. When that moment comes you'll be welcomed home like a hero._

_Your Grandfather,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Lily chanted.

"Okay, this looks really bad but not on Scorpius or his parents even," Kira said.

"Oh my God!"

"Am I reading this right?" Rose asked. "Did he serious say that the only way Scorpius will be allowed home is if he kills Lily?"

"That's certainly the way it sounds," Kira mumbled.

"Oh my God!"

"Okay, Lily," Ruby said, getting in Lily's face and snatching the letter from her hand. "I want you to look at the date on this letter. Lucius wrote this three months ago. Has Scorpius done anything to make you worried?" Lily took a few deep breaths and shook her head 'no.'

"You have to remember that when his father made him choose he chose you. He didn't do that lightly or thinking that his family would just let him go. He obviously kept this from you for a reason. To my thinking it was because he doesn't know how to deal with it and that he will tell you when the time is right." Ruby stuffed the letter back into the drawer and closed it. "When he does tell you, you have to tell him that you found a letter, read it and decided to wait until he told you about it to bring it up. Secrets aren't healthy in any relationship." The last bit was directed towards Lily and Rose.

Lily let out a breath and fell to the clothes covered floor. Her knee hit something hard and she cursed. She rooted around until she found what she fell on. It was a hideous ring that had been tucked into the pocket of a pair of Scorpius' trousers. Before she could get a good look at it the door to the flat opened, she heard her boyfriend's voice and in a panic stuffed the ring into her pocket.

"Hey!" Scorpius called. "What're you girls doing in my bedroom?"

"You better not be digging through his underthings, Kira!" James yelled.

"Only want her pocking through your underthings, James?" Scorpius asked, laughter in his voice. Lily's heart wrench in her chest. She rushed to her boyfriend and threw her arms around his neck. "You all right, love?"

Lily's eyes began to water. She pushed back her tears, put on a smile, kissed the man of her dreams and silently thanked Ruby. "Oh, yes."


	32. I've Got Plans

**A/N:** All righty then… Sorry it took so long but this is nice long one so that should make up for it. There's a long author's note at the end that explains some things that go on in the chapter so I'd recommend reading it. But please don't check my math and then correct me… it'll just be embarrassing. You know, for me.

Disclaimer: Not mine… J.K. Rowling's… you know the drill…

"Once upon a time a boy met and girl and they lived happily ever after… What with no drama? Must be a fairy tale!" – Danielle Juarez

**Chapter Thirty Two**

I've Got Plans

It was two weeks to graduation and everything was falling apart for Albus Potter. It all started on Saturday when he'd caught Persephone snogging Jeremy Jeter in the third floor broom closet. He didn't know how upset he'd be about seeing his ex with someone else until he did and when he did he didn't like it one bit. Albus had been so unexpectedly pissed off that he'd docked points and gave them both two weeks' worth of detentions. Jeter had been stunned and Persephone had marched off in a huff muttering about him being jealous.

Albus had gone to Anora's room complaining loudly about how immature and asinine and immoral Persephone was until Anora told him that he sure sounded jealous to her. They'd had a giant argument after that and Albus had gone to bed alone and miserable. The next day things just got worse. Anora had been late for Transfiguration and told him at lunch (after he'd apologized for being a prat) that she'd had a meeting with the Holy Head Harpies recruiter and would be joining their reserve team after she graduated. She'd be moving to Wales for training and Albus would be in London working with the Aurors.

And then he'd walked past the hour glasses show the House points and realized that he docked points from his own House. All in all it had been a pretty shitty couple of days. When he caught Persephone snogging Jon MacFinney after hours in the broom closet by the library, rage filled him to the boiling point but he managed to coral it and send them both to bed with detentions (one a piece, nothing unreasonable.) He finally had to admit that he did have some positive feelings for Persephone. Positive feelings for Persephone that weren't sexual but were fucking annoying.

He really like Anora, the fact that she was leaving for Wales as soon as they graduated made him sad. He'd hoped to let their relationship would develop once they got out of school but there was no chance of that now. There was no chance of loving her. Because at the moment Albus didn't love her. He liked her a lot, he was happy when he was with her but the thought of being separated from her didn't make him want to rip his heart out.

The feelings he had were nothing like the feelings that Albus knew James had for Kira or Lily had for Scorpius. He and Anora didn't share that kind of gut wrenching, all encompassing kind of love. He knew that they (Kira and James, Lily and Scorpius) liked each other, you know they enjoyed the other person for who they are, even their faults become endearing, kind of like. But what his siblings had was deeper than that, soul deep. The kind of love that can't have been a coincident, or chance or anything other than destiny. Lily and Scorpius were made for each other, James and Kira were essentially the same person. It wasn't like that with Anora and him. Their relationship was effortless and while that was nice it the deep complex layered relationship that he wanted. It sounded insane but the lack of drama was upsetting. There was no conflict so there was no interest.

It would save them both the heart ache of falling in love but being separated by half the country. If they broke up before they fell in love it would save them the pain, but that was in the future. Right now the thought of never getting to love her just made him sad. But it didn't make him wish that he'd never met her to avoid the pain of leaving her. He got a whole school year with her. A whole school year of time with a girl he had a lot in common with. They had some great conversations, she'd opened his eyes to some things and he knew he was a better person for their relationship.

When, two weeks later, he pulled on his dress robes ready to part with this school forever (or until his children graduated (but with the way his love life was shaping up he probably wouldn't be having any children)) he couldn't help thinking that he'd given more of his heart to this school than he'd gotten. His father always acted like this castle was his first home, like this castle had given him his confidence and his family and his one true love. Of course the last two were literally true. But it was almost completely opposite for Albus. His first girlfriend had ripped his heart out and humiliated him to bout. His second had taken his virginity in a broom closet like it hadn't meant anything. And his third was moving to Wales two days after she graduated and long before Albus was ready to give up on her.

He slowly followed his fellow graduates down to the Entrance Hall. They lined up in alphabetical order and made their way down to the lush green lawn lined with chairs. Parents waved and cheered and it seemed like everyone but Albus was excited and looking forward to life outside of Hogwarts. While Albus was certain what lay ahead for him with regard to his career that was the only thing he was certain of. Well that's not true. He was certain that his future didn't involve Anora.

When Professor Longbottom called "Potter, Albus" his family and friends cheered, he put on a smile and walked across the stage looking proud and thrilled and excited and everything he was supposed to look but inside… inside he was miserable. Why couldn't love be easy for him the way it had been for James? Why couldn't he have met his future wife on the train when he was eleven? Why wasn't that in the cards for him? He behaved, he worked and studied and he graduated with honors but not with a girlfriend.

He was so distracted by his own misery that he missed it when Rose missed her name and had to be called to the stage twice. He laughed with everyone else but it was all for show. It wasn't until the graduates had made their way back to the castle and Anora wrapped her arms around his waist that he felt better. There was potential between them but no way of bringing it to fruition.

Albus kissed Anora lightly on the lips.

"I'm going to miss you so much," he whispered.

He heard her sniffle into his throat.

"Well it's not like you're never going to come back to London. We can always see each other then. And who knows I might get some time off and the urge to holiday in Wales, you never know."

She laughed through her tears and then looked up at him with her big brown eyes.

"I think you're the best boyfriend I've ever had, Albus," she said.

He shrugged and looked away. Best boyfriend? Her other boyfriends must have arseholes. Here he was having positive non-sexual feelings for his ex, thinking that breaking up before they fell in love was a good idea and wondering how to shag her one more time before she left. That didn't sound like a good boyfriend to him.

"You are."

"I just wish I'd have gotten my head out of my arse sooner. We could have ages together."

"Who's to say I'd've wanted you sooner?" Anora smiled.

"Oh! Very nice!"

They both laughed and kissed.

"Albus," he pulled away from Anora and looked over at Hugo, "The family's catching up in the courtyard."

Albus sighed and pressed his forehead against Anora's.

"You might want to hurry. Scorpius' parents are here and no one looks too happy."

Albus sighed again. "Looks like the family wants to ruin my love life for the rest of my life. Come on, let's get out there before my family explodes."

Anora smiled up at Albus, took his hand and followed him out of Hogwarts.

* * *

When Rose pulled on her dress robes that morning she hadn't a clue what her day had in store for her. She knew what she hoped would happen but that didn't stop her from being nervous. Life in her family had taught her that things rarely if ever turned out the way that wanted them to. So she was realistic about her plan with Stephen. There was a good chance that it would blow up in her face, but she had to try. The past few months had been hell on earth.

She and Stephen had gotten closer and closer to the edge without tipping over and it was driving her up the wall. Her younger cousin was getting her needs seen to and Stephen wouldn't do anything about her needs until they were living together like a proper couple. He said that he wanted it to be natural. Like it would be unnatural if they did it in his flat while her parents were at work. As far as she was concerned they'd had plenty of time to do it before now but as her relationship with Stephen was one of partnership his opinion mattered just as much as hers. Unfortunately.

It all started out perfectly. Stephen was sitting right in front of her father who was eying her boyfriend curiously. That was good because than hopefully her parents wouldn't be so surprised when she told them that she and Stephen were getting back together. She could see him from where she was sitting and he just looked so handsome that she missed it when Professor Longbottom called "Weasley, Rose" and got to experience the joy of receiving her diploma while everyone laughed at her. But when she looked over at Stephen and he smiled sweetly at her she felt a lot better.

In the chaos after the ceremony Rose slipped away to the fifth year greenhouse where she would meet Stephen. She really should have checked out what the fifth years had been working on before deciding on this spot. It was filled with Amoravino plants also known as the Love Vine. They made anyone who touched them feel amorous until that person got some fresh air. Rose was sure that the pretty pink and white flowers on the vine had caused plenty of heartbreaks. The vines were swaying gently even though there was no breeze, silently drawing Rose closer.

Just one touch. The petals looked so soft and inviting. She rubbed one pink petal between her fingers while a vine brushed her cheek. Her mind became fuzzy and the thoughts morphed in her mind. She was young and beautiful and it was long past time she married Stephan and had children and sent them to Hogwarts. In fact she didn't really need to get married at all. And any bloke would do. It didn't really have to be Stephan.

The vines were weaving into her hair when all of the sudden a pair of large hands pulled her from the pretty plant. The hands took her over to the door and out into the fresh air. Rose tried to turn around to face what she was sure was the love of her life, the man she would have her babies with. They should get started right away. There was no point in waiting any longer. She was in love after all. But after a few minutes that started seeming like less and less of a good idea. She relaxed in the arms of whoever had saved her from her own libido.

"Better, Rosie?"

So it was Stephen then. That was good. And not nearly as embarrassing.

"Yeah, I think it's safe for me to turn around now. No chance of me jumping you."

"How disappointing."

Rose turned around and looked up at his smirking face. "You keep saying things like that and people will start thinking you fancy me."

"Umh… who cares what people think?"

He held out his hand, Rose took it and very willingly fell into his arms. She felt him direct her backwards until she hit the wall of the greenhouse, but she didn't care to open her eyes find out. She was too blissfully content with his kisses to care. Everything was perfect. Pretty soon she would be living with Stephen, her family would know all about their relationship and there would be no more sneaking around, no more avoiding her mother's attempts to talk about her love life or lack thereof.

Rose felt Stephen's lips trail down her throat. He pushed her dress robes out of the way and kissed along her collarbone. Rose's heart began to pound in her chest as the man she loved manhandled her, his hands running up and down her sides, his lips sucking and biting lightly at the tender skin of her chest. She felt like she was on fire. Burning with desire. Desperate for relief.

"Oh, Stephen," she moaned, running her fingers through his hair. "I love you so much."

"Rosie," he whispered. He pulled his head from chest and looked up at her. "I love you too. I've loved you for ages. And now we can finally be together properly."

"And what does that mean?"

Both Rose and Stephen froze. She peaked over her boyfriend's shoulder. Her father was standing behind them with his arms crossed over his chest and grim look on his face.

"Stephen turn around very slowly and keep your hands to yourself and nowhere near your wand," Rose whispered. He followed her directions explicitly.

"Rosie, what's going on?" her father asked.

"Oh, Merlin."

She dropped her face into her hands. This was just awful. How was she supposed to explain this to her father without hurting his feelings? She was well aware that she'd initially kept her relationship with Stephen a secret because of how interfering her father was, but now it was different. She knew he felt bad about it and now, after the debacle with Hugo, it would just hurt her parents and her family. And it seemed like there was no way around it.

"It was my idea, Mr. Weasley." Rose and her father looked at Stephen. Him with anger and hurt, her with horror and confusion. "When Rose and I broke up, I was heartbroken and angry. I blamed you and your family for bringing an end to my relationship. Over the summer I let her know that I still wanted to be together, she agreed and we met. I came up with the idea of keeping it a secret so that we could be together without the constant strain of your nephews dogging our every step. It took some convincing but eventually Rose agreed. She didn't want to lie to you so we just never brought it up."

Rose never felt so grateful to Stephen in her whole life but she couldn't let him take this bullet for her.

"That's not true, Daddy," she said.

"Rose, please," Stephen muttered.

"Keeping it a secret was my idea. I got if from Hugo and convinced Stephen to go along with it. He was the one who didn't want to lie to you. I convinced him otherwise."

"It was both of our idea. We will both take responsibility for it."

"Merlin, Rose," her father sighed. He ran a hand down his face. "What were you thinking?"

Rose moved into Stephen's arms and laid her head on his shoulder. "I just wanted to be with him, Dad. I wanted to be with him without all the pressure and inferring… I love him and we're moving in together."

"No."

"I'm an adult, Dad. I don't need your permission."

"Rosie, this is ridiculous. You are _not_ moving in with Wood. It's not up for discussion. You have been lying to your parents for almost two years there is no way that you're going to move in with the boy who made you lie to us-"

"Bloody hell, Dad! It was my idea not his! I saw Hugo and Ruby snogging and realized that they had been keeping their relationship a secret. I planned to do the same thing with Stephen because I figured it was the only way to keep you out of my love life. I love Stephen. I love him and I will be moving in with him and there is nothing that you can do about it."

"Damn it, Rose! You are too- and your young- and not long enough- and no. Just no!"

"What's going on, Ron?"

Rose sighed in relief. Sometimes her mother just had perfect timing.

"These two have been dating in secret for almost two years," her father growled. Hermione put her hand on her husband's arm. Rose could see the upset on her face but her mother was her mother after all and Hermione's prime objective was to make sure her family was happy.

"Okay, we are going to handle this like the adults that we all are," her mother said. "Let's go back up to the courtyard. We'll all go to Grand Molly's for dinner and then back to our house for a nice long discussion. We won't make any decisions until then."

Her father and Stephen nodded and so did Rose, but she knew in her heart of hearts that it wouldn't matter what her parents had to say about her relationship. She would be moving in with Stephen in the next few weeks regardless of what her parents had to say.

* * *

For the past half hour Scorpius had been trying to bridge the gap between the family he was born to and his surrogate family. Lily was clasped in his arms glittering on her fourth finger was the tiny promise ring he'd given her before commencement. He'd had it mail ordered to Hogsmeade from a magazine his mother had sent him and paid for it with his inheritance. For a long time he'd been worried that he wouldn't be receiving his inheritance because it was controlled by his father. He hadn't gotten it when he turned seventeen during his sixth year but that didn't mean that he would never get it and eventually he did. Months ago, unbeknownst to the people glaring at his parents from right behind him, he'd sent a letter directly to his father. He explained as much as he could about what his life had been like since that fateful day when Draco Malfoy had walked out on his son.

He'd had to wait a week and a half for a response, which came from his mother not his father. It took three more weeks of regular letters to his father to get a response from his father. It was short a sweet. No "it's good to hear from you" or "I miss you" or "I want you to come home" no. It was quite simply:

_Your mother and I are moving into a penthouse in London. She would like to see you over winter break._

_Yours,_

_Father_

It might seem cold to some but Scorpius understood how to read between the lines. Moving out of Malfoy Manor meant one thing. Draco was choosing his son over his father. It didn't necessarily mean that Grandfather Lucius was no longer a threat to his chosen life but it did mean that should his grandfather become a problem his own father would be there to support him. Draco had written that his mother wanted to see him over the break which Scorpius didn't doubt but the fact that he'd been invited by his father meant that his father wanted him there. Also Draco had signed the letter "Father" taking back what he'd said about not having a son. You couldn't be a father without a child.

He hadn't been sure about how his surrogate family would feel about him going to see his birth family, so he'd lied, sort of. He'd told them that he was going out to get their gifts so none of them could come with him, he'd refrained from telling them that in the middle of his shopping he intended to have lunch with his parents. At lunch he learned a lot about what his father had had to do to be where he was. Draco had told Lucius that the only way to teach Scorpius the error of his ways was to appear to support him and slowly retrain him to the proper way of life. The way of life expected of a Malfoy.

Whether or not Grandfather Lucius actually agreed with or believed his son was uncertain but Scorpius trusted his father when he said that he'd only said this to Lucius to keep the family money and his own job while getting his son back in his life.

So when Scorpius turned eighteen his inheritance of about twenty five million galleons was added to his personal vault at Gringotts and then at twenty five he would get another thirty five million, something his father told him was guaranteed. It was something like a peace offering from his birth family and he would take it. And he did take it. He asked his mother to send him a fine jewelry magazine several weeks before graduation. He hadn't exactly been planning to get a promise ring but he did want to get her something for how much she'd helped him come to terms with his family issues. When Scorpius had seen the three stone diamond ring, goblin made in white gold, imbedded with tiny diamonds, he'd known that it was the perfect thing for his Lily.

He had no reason to worry about his money or his family. He knew his parents would stand by him. So letting the world know that he would one day marry Lily Luna Potter was no problem for him. He loved Lily and wanted to be her husband. But, when he got the ring, neither of them had graduated yet, Lily wouldn't for another year, so an engagement ring was too much, a promise ring was just right. It sent the right message. Someday but not today. Like his parents moving out of Malfoy Manor this ring was a statement of intent. He intended to live his life the way he wanted.

He remembered fondly the looked of absolute love and awe on Lily's face. Giving her the ring had done a few things. It told his family he meant to be his own man, it told everyone that Lily would one day be his wife and it reassured Lily that he had no feelings for any other girl, including Anora. Really the ring was the perfect gift.

And now here he stood between his birth family and his rapidly expanding surrogate family. He and his parents were talking quietly with Lily wrapped in his arms standing stiffly. His parents were being very cordial towards her and she to them and while no one had insulted anyone else, he knew that both Grand Molly and Grandpa Arthur were standing close by ready to defend him by force if necessary and Mrs. Potter was within hearing range in case anyone spoke ill of her daughter. By all accounts it was turning out rather well.

And when that thought flitted through his head all hell broke loose around him. Rose, Stephen Wood and her parents appeared from the direction of the green house and Albus and Anora slouched miserably from the Great Hall behind Hugo. Seeing his former enemy caused something to snap in Ron Weasley and he started yelling.

"I cannot believe you two!" he screamed. "Two years! After everything that happened with Hugo!"

"What're you talking about!" Hugo yelled. Anytime anyone made a slightly insulting reference towards Ruby he flipped. "Are you talking about Ruby?"

"No, I'm talking about your sister and this conniving bastard!"

"Dad he's not a bastard! But you're sure acting like one," Rose snapped.

After that people stopped paying as much attention to him and his birth family.

"So, while everyone is losing it, why don't we decide where we're having dinner tonight?" Scorpius asked, conversationally.

* * *

James had spent the last hour watching his family explode around him waiting for the right time to get on his knee. He absolutely refused to do it unless he had everyone's attention, now he was thinking it would be a great diversion from the madness ensuing ever since Uncle Ron caught Rose kissing the lips off Stephen Wood in the greenhouse. Luckily for him he never expected this to be perfect or even run smoothly. That would be unnatural and in all honesty he'd wonder if something was wrong with his family. They were a mental lot and he liked it that way. He didn't stand out when surrounded by nutters. Actually, he felt it made him appear almost normal or at least as close as he'd ever get.

He was nineteen so he knew that he and Kira wouldn't be getting married for a while. Not until his inheritance kicked in at least.

The Ministry had finally settled on what to do with the Lestrange vault at Gringotts a few years ago and the goblins had taken their sweet time moving the vast one billion galleon fortune from the dead Death Eaters' vault to the vaults of the four people the Ministry decided were victimized most by Bellatrix and Rodulfus (as they had no children and no heirs to their fortune something had to be done with the gold). The chosen victims were Neville Longbottom, Hermione Weasley, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter.

A billion galleons split evenly four ways meant two hundred fifty million each. His parents had set up a twofold inheritance for their three children four years ago when they found out they would be getting the gold. At twenty one James would get ten million galleons and then at twenty five he'd get thirty million. (Of course his brother and sister would be receiving the same amount.) James thought it would be best to wait until he was twenty five to have a totally kick ass wedding and he was sure that Kira's vanity would insist on the same.

James looked about the courtyard. On the steps up to the castle Scorpius stood with his parents and Lily with a tiny diamond promise ring glittering on her finger. They actually looked happy. That was a relief. On the other side of the courtyard Albus sat next to Anora talking softly and looking a little sad, they both did. In the corner Rose and Stephen were facing off against Uncle Ron with Aunt Hermione trying to keep the peace. As per usual his Dad was somehow exempt from the madness, with his Mum keeping watch over Lily and Scorpius. Everyone else was busy sticking their noses where they didn't belong and generally getting in the way. Kira stood by his side, smiling fondly at the family she'd taken as her own in spirit. He swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his chest. Her loving gaze swung to him and the panic faded. Everything would be all right.

He took her hand in his and dropped to his knee. Kira gasped. The whole family stopped to watch. James took a deep breath and began the speech he'd been practicing in his head all day.

"When I was eight I asked my Dad a seemingly simple question about boys and girls. He told me, among other things I've suppressed for the sake of my sanity, that someday when I was much, much, much older that I'd meet a girl, fall in love and want to marry her. Neither of us knew I would be meeting that girl three years later. Merlin, I remember it like it was yesterday. Walking through the train and finding you trying to talk a bunch of Muggle-borns who didn't know any better into stealing the food trolley. I thank Merlin to this day that none of them took you up on it. I don't know, and quite frankly I don't want to know what would have happened if someone other than me had pushed you down the corridor on that trolley and then helped you eat all the pumpkin pasties. But it was me. Me and you, baby." At this point Kira was jumping up and down, grinning and making happy little noises.

"And do you remember what you said while we sat in Professor Longbottom's office as he informed us that we were the first student's in Hogwarts history to receive a detention without actually setting foot in the castle? He went off grumbling and you looked at me with that naughty gleam in your eye and scoffed, "That was nothing. I've got plans, you in?" I didn't even think for a second before saying, "You betcha." Well, Kiki, I've got plans," James reached into his pocket, placed the small velvet box in Kira's hand and flipped the lid open. "You in?"

She didn't take her eyes off him to look at the ring. "You bet your sweet ass I'm in!" she exclaimed. The family cheered.

"Kira! My Kira! A part of the family!" Grand Molly exclaimed, rushing over. James slipped the ring on her finger before they were overrun.

"I told you you'd be married in a hot second!" Teddy yelled.

"You'll be proper godparents for Dora," Victoire insisted.

"Oh, I thought this would never happen!"

"Mum!" James yelled, affronted.

"Well you took your bloody time!" Ginny said, hands on hips.

"Give him a break, Gin. Are you ready to be a grandmother so soon?" She paled at Harry's words.

"Let's see the ring, Kira!" Lily said, bouncing up and down. Kira finally looked down at her hand and gasped.

"Holy crap, Potter!" she shouted. "Is this why you haven't bought any groceries since Christmas?" She held up her left hand graced with a two carat emerald cut ruby surrounded by tiny diamonds on a band crusted with diamonds all set in yellow gold. James had liked it because it all but screamed Gryffindor.

"Sue me, Kiki," he said. "My inheritance doesn't kick in until my twenty-first birthday and Uncle George is a skinflint with his prime inventors."

"I am not!"

"Plus I'm trying to save for a proper home. There's no way I'm marrying you then moving back into a flat!"

"You don't have to worry about that, James," Harry said.

"I'm not moving back home either!"

"I didn't mean that," Harry snapped. "Your mother and I have been slowly refurnishing Grimmauld Place in London. It's meant to be a house for any of our children who want a home but can't afford one just yet. You, Albus and Lily when she graduates will be more than welcome to use it once we've finished."

"Well would you look at that, babe," James said. "We won't have to start selling our ideas to Zonko's just to make ends meet."

"That's not even funny," Uncle George snapped.

"Sorry, Uncle George, luckily we only have to scrap by until I turn twenty-one."

"You two aren't going anywhere," Uncle George insisted. "You've made me more money in one year then I've made in the last five. I suppose we could work something out."

"You'll stop cursing our alarm clock?" Kira asked, staring at her ring.

"Don't make any promises you can't keep, George!" Aunt Luna said.

"How about a raise to make up for the constant need for new alarm clocks and then some?"

"Why don't you just hide the damn clock?" Albus asked.

"Shh, Al! We're thinking." James pressed his forehead against Kira's. She smiled. "We think we can live with that, Uncle George!"

"Brilliant!"

"Let's celebrate!" Lily exclaimed. "Kira and James are getting married and a raise apparently. Al, Scorpi and Rose just graduated! This is a good day!"

"That's right, everyone back to the Burrow!" Grand Molly yelled over the ruckus of her family. "Oh happy day! Kira, my Kira!"

Kira clung to James' side, ready to travel down the Hogsmeade to Apparate home. She kissed his ear and whispered, "Told you they like me better than you."

James grinned, "Well, someone really ought to like you," then took off running with Kira hot on his heels, laughing her cute little bum off. Just because they were getting married that didn't mean he couldn't still take the mickey and for one second his manic family managed to focus on the positives instead of all the drama.

_Not a boring graduation after all_, James decided. And really his opinion is really the only one that ought to matter.

* * *

A/N: I've done some math in this chapter so bear with me. I graduated with an English degree having only taken one math class years ago and no economics class. So let's assume that the Lestrange's had at least one billion galleons worth of valuables in their vault. What happened to it after they died? Well I say the Ministry took their sweet time delegating and commissioning and meeting until many, many, many years later (let's be honest it's not exactly a priority right after the war had ended) that it would be split evenly between the four people who were most hurt by the Lestranges and I figure that's Neville, Hermione, Ron and Harry.

One billion galleons in pounds with a conversion rate of five and half pounds per galleon is five billion five hundred thousand pounds. Five billion five hundred thousand pound in American dollars with a conversion rate of one and half dollars per pound is eight billion two hundred fifty thousand dollars which is a lot of fucking money. Split four ways that's two billion sixty two million five hundred thousand dollars each or one billion three hundred seventy five thousand pounds each.

Now the Potter children's inheritance of ten million galleons when they turn twenty one turns into fifty five million pounds or eighty two million five hundred thousand pounds. The second half of thirty million galleons when they turn twenty five turns into one hundred sixty five million pounds or two hundred forty seven million five hundred thousand dollars making their entire inheritance forty million galleons or two hundred twenty million pounds or three hundred thirty million dollars.

Scorpius' inheritance would be about the same considering the fact that the Malfoy's are bound to be just as rich as the Lestranges and their money hasn't gone anywhere. So at eighteen he got twenty five million which becomes one hundred thirty million five hundred thousand pounds or two hundred six million two hundred fifty thousand dollars. The inheritance he gets when he's older is thirty five million galleons or one hundred ninety two million five hundred thousand pounds or two hundred eighty eight million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars making his total inheritance sixty million galleons or three hundred thirty million pounds or four hundred ninety five million dollars.

So in plain numbers that's…

Potter children total each:

In galleons- 40,000,000

In pounds- 220,000,000

In dollars- 330,000,000

Scorpius' total:

In galleons- 60,000,000

In pounds- 330,000,000

In dollars- 495,000,000

Trust the plain numbers more than what I've written. I used the calculator on my IPod touch and trusted my understanding of exchange rates from Mugglenet so who knows what's true…


	33. Four Years in a Chapter

A/N: This chapter is a bridge between the school years and the adult years. It's short on purpose, the next chapter will be better.

"Some years take a decade to pass while others seem to pass only in the blink of an eye." –Danielle Juarez

**Chapter Thirty Three**

Four Years in a Chapter

Rose Weasley blew the hair out of her face and bounced slightly as Stephen moved back to his side of the bed. It had taken three days and one extended row but eventually Ron Weasley conceded that his daughter was an adult and as an adult was entitled to make her own decisions or (as he liked to refer to her living with her boyfriend) mistakes. Little had changed in Ron's opinion of Rose's boyfriend over the past four years but Hermione assured her daughter that that stemmed from resentment at being left in the dark and guilt over driving his daughter to that point. Hermione promised that it would fade eventually. Suffice to say Ron's resentment towards Stephen had yet to fade even slightly as far as Rose could tell. It had been four years almost to the day since Rose's graduation and in that time she'd moved into Stephen's flat, moved out (with Stephen) into a bigger flat, gotten assigned to follow Puddlemere United as their official Quidditch reporter and got the joy of cuddling into bed with her Quidditch hunk every night for a few hours of orgasmic bliss.

Life for Rose was perfect.

She curled on Stephen's broad, well bone and gloriously bare chest ready to drift off into an exhausted sleep but sleep seemed out of reach, thoughts of her family clogging up her mind. First and foremost was her brother and Ruby. Or the latest Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Like all Weasley/Potter marriages this one began at the Burrow. Ruby's family was thrilled with the marriage, of course, and Ruby's little brother had entertained the wedding party by making a table crash into the chimney. Rose was as shocked as everyone else at the eight year olds power and control over that power, but the little guy seemed to think it was all just a game. Mum and Dad had purchased them a house in Kensington and gave them a forward on Hugo's inheritance so that they might survive in that pricey part of London.

Rose wasn't too upset about Hugo getting some of his money early. He was an entry level Auror when they got married and Ruby was on the long, hard road towards getting her medical doctorate in psychiatric medicine (whatever that meant) truly they needed every cent. Plus Rose was living with an internationally famous Quidditch player who made it his goal in life that Rose should want for nothing. Anyway that was two years ago. Rose had received her inheritance of sixty million galleons on her twenty first birthday (unlike her Potter cousins she and Hugo received it all at once) and was at long last far more wealthy than her boyfriend. For the time being anyway. Stephen was very popular with the fans and was projected to make many millions by the time his career ended.

Considering her Potter cousins, not much had changed with them. Kira and James still lived in their tiny flat, though James could certainly afford a better place, they were still engaged and enjoying the hell out of refusing to set a date for their nuptials. They invented vastly popular and wickedly naughty products for Uncle George and for their sixth dating year anniversary (James insisted on a party) Uncle George had informed them that the shop's ownership would be split even between the two of them and his daughter. As James liked to put it they had it "made in the shade with pink lemonade."

Albus lived in Grimmauld Place with Scorpius and Lily and worked as an Auror slowly but surely moving his way up the ranks. He was single with seemingly no intention of changing that. Every few months he took off for a weekend to visit Anora where ever she was playing but everyone knew it was far from serious between the pair. They just didn't see each other often enough. Albus had thrown himself into his career. Rose heard whispers from family members (cough-James-cough) of him having multiple flings with witches and Muggles alike but nothing ever seemed to stick. But then he was only twenty-one. No reason to settle down.

But then again Lily and Scorpius were getting closer and closer to a permanent situation, so maybe it would rub off on Albus.

They weren't yet engaged but everyone agreed that it was only a matter of time or that the pair would just skip the engagement all together and walk straight down the aisle. That seemed far more likely to Rose. Lily wore her promise ring like an engagement ring and was constantly flipping through Muggle wedding magazines. But that was only her off time which she didn't have much of these days. She was working in the Magic Law Department at the Ministry with Rose's mother because she wanted to be close to Scorpius and as it turned out she had a knack for representing people.

One year after graduating Scorpius had earned a very nice promotion with both Hugo and Albus working under him along with three other young Aurors. The move, according to Uncle Harry, was to give the incoming Aurors someone their own age that they could aspire to be like given enough hard work. Merlin knew that Scorpius worked his ass off in the Auror office and while he didn't chase down dark wizards as much anymore he still put in more hours than most of the veterans. Rose was sure that very soon Albus would be in the same position and then her brother. The three of them were the best of the bunch, according to her Dad and Uncle Harry.

Teddy and Victoire had long since settled into work at Gringotts and were happily procreating like mad. Rose had been hearing rumors that Victoire was blissfully pregnant once more and looking forward to giving the little trouble maker Nymphadora a brother or sister.

The rest of the family was moving at a similar pace. Careers, marriage, babies…

Rose rubbed her cheek against Stephen's chest. The soft hairs on his pecks tickled her lips and she smiled, with her eyes still squeezed shut. Her smiled faded after a moment. She had the career and the man but she was no closer to marriage or kids. Not that she was at all ready for children but it did make her think. Her younger brother was married and rumored to be breeding, her younger cousin was a stone's throw from the altar. Was she… lagging behind again? Lily got to make love before she did and Hugo got married first. It kind of felt like she was being out paced again. Rose's face scrunched up and she felt an uncomfortable emptiness in her stomach. She shifted and Stephen's arm tightened around her waist. Rose's eyes opened, she looked up at him and he looked blurrily down at her.

"I have practice in the morning, love," he grumbled, sleepily. "I'll never get any rest with you wiggling around."

"Sorry, Stephen." She tried to move off his chest so as not to bother him but he held on to her all the tighter.

"Now, now, I'll be having none of that." He pulled her more fully on top of him and she felt how much her wiggling had affected him. She blushed.

"I thought you wanted sleep, Mr. Wood."

"Well, I do believe that my wood is the crux of the problem," he grinned cheekily and her blush darkened. "You're usually not awake enough for me to have another go. It's rather flattering actually. Knowing I've shagged my girlfriend into unconsciousness. Takes the edge off wanting her again."

"Perv," Rose smiled.

"I am what you've made me."

"Oh very nice!"

She pushed his arm from around her waist and rolled off of him. Stephen cuddled up behind her. "I could get into this, you know? Having you from behind. Just move your thigh over mine and we'll be in business."

Rose yawned widely. "I haven't a clue what you're on about," she insisted.

His hand crept up along her rib cage. "Really, Rosie? Allow me to illuminate you."

She squealed as his fingers found their prize. "Stephen!"

"You're supposed to moan," he growled, kissing his way over her throat.

"Oh my Merlin!" she moaned as he continued to toy with her with his hands and lips. "This is not going… to-to-to h-help you g-g-g-get to SLEEP!" His left hand dived between her legs and she nearly screamed.

"But-it-will-help-you-get-to-sleep," he said between kisses. He pulled his head from her throat to note, "Which will help me get to sleep." Rose took advantage of his momentary pause in movement.

"I wasn't wiggling because you somehow failed to fully satisfy me. Honestly had I been more satisfied I might be in a coma right now."

"Oh, that's nice, Rosie. My loving might cause brain damage."

"Well, it's a hell of a lot nicer than you teasing me when I've done nothing to deserve it other hand fail to fall asleep fast enough for your liking."

"Do you want me to stop?"

Rose looked over her shoulder at him. Something in her expression answered him and he swooped down for a kiss.

* * *

A/N: Don't worry! The next chapter is coming soon. In fact I've already written it, so if you want to read it press that button at the bottom of the screen and review damn it. I'll threaten you people for it, don't think I won't. FINE! I won't update until I've gotten at least three reviews. I think even you stingy son's-a-monkeys can manage that… probably not a good idea to insult the readers now that I think on it.


	34. Calla Lilly

A/N: HEY HEY HEY! I said you'd get another chapter if you gave me three reviews and I got eight! So here's your chapter. Do enjoy...

"When something is lost the very best thing to do is stop looking for it. When you stop looking it shows up right under your nose..." - Danielle Juarez

**Chapter Thirty Four**

Calla Lily

Albus Potter, Auror extraordinaire, had just lost sight of the dark wizard he was tracking. He had been chasing Howard Marconi for three blocks and the stupid blitter finally got the bright idea to Apparate. Marconi was wanted for selling dangerous, magical items to Muggles. The arrest warrant in Albus' pocket was for selling attacking jewelry. No explanation needed. They hoped to find more evidence once they had him in custody and that was where Albus came in.

But that seemed a bit hard at the moment.

Albus leaned against the stone wall in front of him. He looked up and distracted himself from his failure by examining the building. It was a dance studio, called Happy Feet. A poster on the door informed him that it was specifically for teaching young children how to dance. Albus noticed with interested how the building seemed to be emptying. Parents were hurrying their children out of the front door and employees were close behind.

They were all muttering loudly about some madman with a stick.

Albus fought his way past the throngs of people trying to get out and hurried into the building. Howard Marconi had a Muggle woman by the hair. He was pointing his wand threateningly at her throat. He looked frantic and irritated. The woman in his arms was thrashing against him, trying to free herself.

"Let her go, Marconi!" Albus yelled, his wand held high. Marconi panicked, he pulled his struggling captive into one of the dance studios in an effort to get away from Albus. "Bugger." Albus followed.

Howard Marconi was not a very gifted dark wizard, Albus realized as he entered the room. He had his back to Albus as he tried to subdue the woman in his arms. She kept hitting him and screaming wordlessly. He was apparently smart enough to cast a Silencing Spell on her. Albus pointed his wand at Marconi's back, separated him from the Muggle and with a flick of his wrist, ropes sprang from the tip of Albus' wand and wrapped around the other wizard.

Albus turned to the Muggle woman who was trying to sneak out of the room while he was preoccupied with Marconi. He had no intention of letting her do that, but there was no reason for him to rush things. He hated to Obliviate Muggles, it felt like he was invading their minds and he didn't think he had any right to do that. As he watched her creep over to the door, he took her in for the first time.

She was very pretty. Long light red hair that ended in the middle of her back. Her long body was thin but not overly so. Her abundant chest and wide hips offset her barely there waist and pencil thin legs. Her dancing clothes fit like a second skin and revealed that she was flawless. Every inch of her was trim and shaped perfectly.

Albus flicked his wand to close and lock the door, just as she reached it. She turned back to him and pulled a nervous smile. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She closed her eyes and gave a noiseless sigh. 'Bloody hell,' she mouthed. Albus walked closer to her, her lips were plump, yet thin in width, and Albus wanted to lick them. He lifted his wand and muttered the counter curse.

"Can I talk now?" she asked, then blushed.

"Don't worry," Albus said. "I took care of it."

"And he's…" She pointed at the unconscious Dark Wizard in the corner.

"Out of the picture. Are you all right?" he asked.

"Fine, now that I can talk. What just happened here?" Albus hesitated over how to answer, for some reason he didn't want to lie to her as he had lied to countless Muggles before. She was different, Albus just didn't know why. Before he could think of what to say to her, her amber eyes widened as realization sat in. "You're a wizard and so is he."

"Now, don't be silly. Wizards don't exist," Albus said, stumbling over his lie. It was part of the job and no matter how much he liked looking at the pretty woman in front of him he really did have to wipe her memory. She squinted at him.

"Do I look stupid to you?" she asked.

"No, actually you look rather intelligent, which is why your wizard comment seems so funny." Albus smiled at her and she blushed again.

"I know wizards are real, thank you very much. When I was eleven I saw a man, in robes just like yours, vanish behind a store in York. And then when I was fifteen I saw another man, also in robes, pull out a stick, like the one you're holding, and make green sparks fly out of the tip and out of nowhere a massive purple bus appeared. I know wizards are real, this just proves it," she said.

Albus stared at her for a moment. Those wizards had been careless and Albus thought back over all of the times he had been just as thoughtless. His job was best done in secrecy. This woman had seen too much and come to the right conclusion.

"What's your name?" Albus asked stalling for time. He needed to think before he did anything he would regret.

"Calla," she said, pausing a moment before finishing, "Calla Lilly Cambray. My mum liked calla lilies."

"Right," Albus said. He knew he should Obliviate her, but for some reason he wanted to draw out their time together. And it didn't help that Hugo would be arriving any minute to drag Marconi off to the Ministry.

"And your name, Mister Wizard?" Calla asked, smiling. Albus found himself smiling back. She had a very pretty smile.

"Albus Potter. I'm named after my father's mentor." He was offering up information. He knew better than to do that, but couldn't seem to help himself. Albus heard Hugo at the door. Quickly he pulled out his father's Invisibility Cloak and threw it over her. "Stay quiet and my partner won't know you're here."

Calla grabbed the back of Albus' robes, but did what she was told. He could feel her tremble when Hugo Appearated into the dance studio. Albus regarded his cousin with suspicion. Hugo wouldn't hesitate to Obliviate Calla and for some reason that Albus was not comfortable thinking on, he didn't want her to forget him.

"Hey, mate," Hugo said. "So, you got him then."

"Yeah," Albus said. Hugo pulled Marconi's limp body under his arm and turned to Albus.

"You coming to interrogate him?" Hugo asked.

"No, you take of it. I'm going to help the Oblivators with the Muggles that saw him. A few got out before I subdues him." Albus felt Calla pull hard on his robes.

"You're right, can't be too sure. I'll see you at the office, yeah?" Hugo asked.

"In a bit." Hugo held up his wand and vanished with a _Pop!_

"I'm invisible!" Calla exclaimed letting go off his robes. "This is so cool! I feel like I can do anything. Go anywhere I want, do anything I want, this is amazing!"

"Take off the cloak, Calla, and maybe I'll take you flying," Albus said, grinning. The cloak tumbled to the ground and Calla appeared right in front of the mirrored wall.

"You can fly?" she asked, in awe.

"On a broom, yes."

"Don't witches do that?"

Albus shrugged. "And wizards."

"Dear Lord," she put her hand over her heart, "there's a whole world out there that I don't know anything about. You'll tell me about it, won't you?"

Albus sighed. "I really shouldn't."

"But you're going to, aren't you?" she asked. Calla picked up the cloak and walked towards Albus. "I've been waiting my whole life for something exciting to happen. This is just what I've always wanted for myself. A chance to see the world for what it really is not what everyone thinks it is. To take control and do what _I_ want, not what's expected of me… Please."

Albus stared at her, again. She was so pretty and everything she just said made him want her all the more. He desperately wanted to make her dreams come true and it didn't help that he could do it so easily. All he had to do was open his mouth and tell her. He wanted so badly to tell her, but he knew that he shouldn't.

Albus stepped back from her. He'd let this go too far. He'd been trained better than to let something like this happen. If he knew what was good for him he would raise his wand and Obliviate her. Once he finally got feeling back in his arm, he did indeed raise it. He pointed his wand directly at her.

Calla's eyes got wide. As Albus began the spell she threw the cloak over herself and disappeared.

"Oh, bugger it all to Hades woman!" Albus yelled, lowering his wand. "You're not supposed to know about our world. No Muggle is!"

"What's a Muggle?" she asked. Albus turned in the direction of her voice. She was moving, so that she would be harder to target.

"Someone like you, someone without magic," he said, turning around trying to figure out where she was. Just for safety he locked the windows and sealed the glass, so that she could not use that as a means of escape.

"Bugger," she muttered. "I'm your little invisible prisoner, am I?"

"For the time being, yes," Albus snapped. She was too smart for her own good. "Muggles aren't readily accepted in the Wizarding World. You don't want anything to do with it, trust me."

"Well, why don't you tell me about it and I'll make up my own damn mind," she muttered.

"Woman!"

"Stop calling me that, my name is Calla." She was by the door, Albus raised his wand in that direction. "Are you trying to kill me, or just give me a heart attack?"

"I'm trying to wipe your memory!" Albus said, frustrated. She gasped and tried to force the door open. Albus rushed over and pulled the cloak off of her. Calla tried to run away from him, but he grabbed hold of her slim waist and held tight.

"Please, don't!" she begged, trying to fight him off. "I like my memory the way it is! I won't tell anyone, I swear it!"

"Listen to me, Calla," Albus said, trying to sound in control. But having her tiny slender body snug against him was affecting him in a very hard way. "I don't want to wipe your memory." She gasped again and stopped struggling when she felt just how hard it was for him.

"Oh, I know what you want to do," she snapped. "Wizards aren't supposed to get boners." Albus could not help but smile into her hair.

"Says who?" he taunted.

"Bah! Are you going to wipe my memory or not? This cat and mouse game is getting old and so is your poking," Calla said.

"Oh, I thought you liked my poking."

_Bugger_ _it_, Albus thought, as Calla stuttered over a reply. He had her right where he needed her to perform the spell, but couldn't seem to force himself to do it. He released her. She stumbled for a moment before Albus righted her. "I'm not going to wipe your memory."

She turned on him, suddenly. "You're not?"

"No."

"Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but why?" she asked. Albus looked at his shoes and shuffled from one foot to the other.

"I don't want you to forget me," he admitted.

"Good, that makes two of us." His eyebrows shot up. She visually gulped. "Only because you'd be taking more than your due, is all. Not… I didn't mean that in a romantic sort of way, just a general, please don't take away my memories sort of way."

Albus stared at her, yet again. He had already committed her beauty to memory, but he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. She was a delight to behold. In the few minutes that he had spent in her presence he had learned so much about her just by the way she carried herself. She was nothing like the girls he'd been with before. Calla was strong and quick on her feet. She was direct, wanted what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go after it.

"So," Albus said. "You want to know about my world, do you?" Her eyes brightened and she nodded. "Well, come on. I'll take you back to my place." He opened his arms to her. She didn't move closer to him. "You'll have to get closer if you want to come with me."

"You're not trying to trick me, are you?" she asked, suspicious. "If I go with you, you won't take away my memories while I'm distracted, will you?"

"I'm sorry I ever pointed my wand at you, Calla. Unless I'm trying to save your life I'll never do that again. That's a promise. If you want me to tell you about my world I need you to trust me." He held out his hand to her again. She reached out and grabbed his hand.

He Apparated Grimmauld Place. When the world righted itself, Calla fell into his arms trembling and gasping for breath. "Sorry, should have warned about the squeezing sensation." She looked up at him with wide, bewildered eyes.

"We-" she gasped. "We're in a totally different place. We-we-we teleported!"

"We call it Apparating," Albus said.

"That was amazing!" She pulled out of his arms and looked around the hall. The walls were lined with moving pictures and she gaped at them. "Look, Albus! Look, they're moving. Is that your family? Those two look like you." She pointed at the pictures waving at her from the frames on the wall.

"Yeah, that's my Dad and my brother." Albus indicated who was who. "That's my Mum, my sister and her boyfriend and my brother's fiancé."

"This is unbelievable. It's a picture. I can see that it's a picture, not a video and it's moving. That's just mental!" She looked up at him with bright eyes and a giant grin. "What else? Show me something else!" she demanded.

Albus laughed. "Well, you've already seen the Invisibility Cloak, the moving pictures and you've seen the Knight Bus."

"That's what the purple bus I saw is called?" Albus nodded. "Something else. Please!"

Albus racked his brain for something else to show her to avoid thinking about how stupid he was being. Calla had already seen some of the most interesting things the Wizarding world had to offer and he couldn't exactly take her flying in the middle of the day. He was well aware of how dangerous what he was doing was. If he got caught it would mean losing his job, the respect and trust of his peers, not to speak of how his father would react. A thought struck him. This wasn't really his fault, if he explained it to his father, maybe fudged the truth a bit he could keep her. More to the point if he fudged the truth in the right way he could keep her around him.

"We've got to go to the Ministry, Calla," he said, then shook his head. He was thinking too far ahead. They wouldn't be able to go to the Ministry for months.

"The Ministry? Is that like your government? Are you trying to take my memories again? You promised you wouldn't!" she exclaimed backing away from him.

"There's only one way for this to work, Calla," he explained, finally on track. "And that is if we are as honest as possible with one little lie we can draw this out for as long as possible. If it doesn't work out, though, or if you aren't willing… you have to understand I won't have any other choice. The Obliviators are already hard at work on everyone that was in that dance studio. They won't remember a thing, only you will. And if it comes to it I'll be the one to modify your memory. I'll only take today and… me. You can keep your childhood memories."

Calla looked up at him with her light blue eyes brimming with confusion and fear. "What do I have to do to keep today?" she asked, seeming to understand the seriousness of the situation.

"It's simple really; you have to marry me."

Her eyes bugged out of her head. "What? Have you lost your mind?"

"Very flattering, Calla," Albus said, dryly.

"I just met you today and you're asking me to marry you!" She shook her head. "No, no, there's got to be another way."

"The only way I would be legally allowed to tell you that I'm a wizard would be if we're getting married. They've instituted a law that if a magical person is marrying a Muggle they have to tell them about the Wizarding world before the wedding. That way if the Muggle freaks out and doesn't want to be married to a witch or wizard there isn't the added issue of divorce before memory modification. We'll just say we're engaged. That way you can experience the Wizarding world to its fullest.

"But I think the best way to go about this is if we actually date for a few months. You know, just keep it a secret. More a lie of omission than a flat out lie about how long we've been together. Unfortunately that means you'll have to wait a few months until you can actually experience the Wizarding world firsthand. And once you can, we'll just be engaged for as long as possible."

"What if I have a boyfriend?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No, but-"

"Well then what's the problem? I think this is a brilliant plan and honestly it's the only option we've got."

"This plan is a remarkably short sighted, Albus! What happens when people realize that we're never romantic or physical with one another?"

Albus closed the distance between the two of them and kissed her. She was stiff for a moment before melting into his arms. Her hands crept up his chest before cupping his chin and playing with the light stubble he hadn't bothered to shave off that morning. He gripped the back of her head and angled it to deepen the kiss. His other arm moved around her trim waist to support her weight when her knees gave out. He broke the kiss and gazed into her lust clouded eyes.

She licked her lips. "What-what will you do if it doesn't work out?" she asked still clasped in his embrace.

"A terrible way to enter into a relationship, Calla," Albus said. "Thinking that it will end. Who's to say this isn't fate?"

"What will your family say? They've never met me and we're getting married?"

Albus smiled, he liked how that sounded a little too much. "My cousin Hugo, the wizard who popped in at the studio, has a Muggle wife. He kept her a secret for years while they were dating. When my aunt and uncle found out they freaked. I'll just say I wanted to get to know you in peace without all the family drama about me dating a Muggle. We fell in love and I asked you to marry me… I decided it was time to introduce you to this world and my family as the law requires before we got married."

Calla rested her cheek against Albus' shoulder and was quiet for a few minutes. She looked up at him. "I've wanted passion and excitement all my life. I've wanted my life to mean more than marriage and sons… maybe this is fate, Albus. Or maybe I'm just mental. One thing I do know is that if we're going to do this we have to have our story solid before I meet your family."

A grin split Albus' face. He swooped down and kissed her again.


	35. Fiance

A/N: I've decided that my readers respond well to being threatened. So here goes… IF YOU SONS-A-MONKEYS DON'T REVIEW I'LL-I'LL-I'LL… be sad… That didn't work out very well did it?

"Sometimes being nosy and being a good friend isn't the same thing." – Danielle Juarez

**Chapter Thirty Five**

Fiancé

Every day since he'd been welcomed into the Potter/Weasley clan had become a waiting game for the next drama. Scorpius had long since realized that just because a day began normal didn't necessarily mean it would end in the same state. More often than not someone's personal drama would explode and encompass the entire family. And when something seemed one way, more than likely it was the complete opposite. Usually Scorpius was on the outside looking in but not an active member of the drama. But this time Albus dragged him into the thick of it.

Really he should have known when he woke up that his day would end up a mess. He'd woken up on time, pulled Lily to his chest to kiss her awake. They'd had a leisurely breakfast with Al and parted ways when they got to the Ministry. He and Al headed to the Auror Department and Lily flitted off to her job with Aunt Hermione. Even the Marconi case was pretty run of the mill. He'd sent Al to take care of it because of all the Aurors that worked under him Albus was one of the best. He could trust Albus to take care of it with no complications. When it took longer than Scorpius thought it should have he'd sent Hugo to see what was going on before heading out to meet Lily for lunch. When he got back Marconi was in an interrogation room with Hugo. He figured Albus was around somewhere. He didn't realize his best mate was MIA until an hour later when Hugo asked if Al had shown up.

Scorpius had been about to begin a formal search as per procedure when an Auror doesn't return to the office after an altercation with a dark wizard when Albus came into his office as if nothing was amiss and he hadn't been MIA for several hours. He'd absolutely refused to talk about why he'd been gone, only saying that he'd needed some personal time. Scorpius let it go, mostly because he'd been relieved that his mate was all right. But things had gotten weird after that.

For the next few months Albus had been spending less and less time with his mates. When the Aurors went out for a drink after work Albus always ducked out. Scorpius knew for a fact that Anora wasn't back in the picture. The Harpies were on the international leg of their season, so unless Albus was following the team around… Scorpius doubted it was that though. Albus and Anora hadn't been serious since they graduated and that was four years ago. There had to be something else going on. And it wasn't just that Albus was ignoring his mates, but that he was almost never at home. It was nice for him and Lily because it meant that they could shag where ever they wanted, but after three months of increasingly odd, seemingly antisocial behavior Scorpius was starting to worry.

He considering taking his suspicions to Harry, who he was certain had noticed something odd about his son when Albus walked into his office with a bundle of petite strawberry blond in his arms. Scorpius had been relieved for a second that his mate wasn't in trouble until Albus started talking.

"… long story short, this is Calla Lilly Cambray and she's my fiancé."

"Hi," she waved, holding onto Albus' arm for dear life. He couldn't blame her. A Muggle in the Ministry. It was bound to be a lot to take in.

Scorpius waved back absentmindedly, unable to remember how his mouth worked. He ran an exhausted hand down his face. There was always something.

"So, since we're getting married I figured it was time to tell the family."

"The family, Al!" Scorpius yelled, surging to his feet. "You're going to tell the whole bloody family that you're marrying a girl none of us have ever met before? Really think, Albus. How is that going to go? Your parents will be heartbroken just like Hermione and Ron were when they found out about Hugo and Ruby, not to mention how Lily and James will feel. Grand Molly and Grandpa Arthur will upset- Bloody hell everyone will be upset!"

"Everyone or just you?" the Muggle whispered.

Albus wrapped his arm around Calla's waist. She curled into his side, her left hand splayed on his chest. Scorpius noticed the ring on her finger. It was a small diamond ring in the design of a sweet little flower set in white gold. It was simple and sweet, just like the bundle in Albus' arms. There was nothing remarkably beautiful about her in Scorpius' opinion. She wasn't the pretty girl like Persephone or the classic beauty like Anora. She was short, a little too thin with a generous chest. But this was Al. He never picked the same sort of girl that Scorpius did. Who was he to judge though? Scorpius had fallen in love his second year and had yet to fall out.

"What do you want me to say, mate?" Albus asked.

Scorpius sighed and sat down. "Why didn't you tell me?" He rubbed his eyes. "We've been best mates since our first year. You don't fall in love all of the sudden. I can understand keeping it a secret at first. It doesn't look good an Auror dating a Muggle but… you could have told _me_."

Calla laid her cheek against Albus' shoulder.

"It's only been three months, Scorpius. We don't even know what the future holds for us-"

"Clearly it holds a wedding."

"You want the truth, Scorpius?" Albus asked.

"Yes."

"I asked her to marry me because I love her and I wanted to be able to tell her the truth. We both decided that we would be engaged for as long as possible before we actually get married. That way we can really see if it'll work."

"So you're going to pull a James and Kira except you haven't known each other that long?"

"That's the plan."

"Al-" Scorpius began rubbing his temples.

"I was in a bind, Scorpius. What was supposed to do? Wait until I was intent on asking her to spend the rest of her life with me and then risk losing her because I didn't tell her I was wizard while I was courting her? It wasn't a risk I was willing to take."

"And now you're risking any possibly future by moving too fast. Did you learn nothing from Daisy?"

"Don't throw that shit in my face, Scorpius! Daisy was in love with someone else, Calla loves me. She doesn't know anything about… _this_ _world_."

Scorpius understood the significance. He turned to Calla. "Would you mind giving us a moment, Miss Cambray?"

Albus kissed Calla's cheek and said, "Just wait outside, if anyone bothers you call for me."

She nodded, nervously and left Scorpius office.

"She doesn't know about your father, aunt and uncle?"

"No. I plan to tell her as soon as I introduce her to my family. It's not like I could explain that my father is the reason that we won a war against an evil wizard without first explaining that I'm a wizard. Get your head out of your ass."

Scorpius rubbed his forehead. "Just like with Daisy you're going too fast and pushing too hard," Scorpius snapped. "This could get really messy really fast."

"But it could also be exactly what I've been looking for," Albus insisted. "You got lucky, Scorpius. You meet the girl of your dreams when you were twelve. The rest of us mere mortals are just trying to do the best we can. I honestly can't imagine going farther in my relationship with Calla keeping something so important from her. Proposing is the only way that I can tell her the whole truth, holding nothing back, and not lose my job over it."

Scorpius leaned back and looked over his mate. Albus hadn't looked so hopeful since the beginning of his relationship with Anora. He must really believe that Calla was it for him. Scorpius sighed for the five millionth time that day. "How are you going to tell the family?"

"I was hoping you could tell Lily before we got home tonight. I really want Calla to get comfortable in the Wizarding world and I figured the best way to do that is if she moved in with me. We already have all her stuff at Grimmauld but that can change if you don't want us living there."

"Let me guess," Scorpius said, harshly. "If I say I don't want your fiancé living with us you'll move out, correct?"

Albus pursed his lips and nodded.

"Lily and I are meeting for a drink after work at the Leaky Cauldron. I'll tell her then. I'm sure she'll be thrilled." She'd been complaining about the amount of testosterone in the house for a while. "About the girl living with us not the fact that you kept something like this from us. No one is happy about _that_," Scorpius said waving his hand towards the door.

"That has a name," Albus snarled.

"I meant the situation not the girl."

Albus stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned away. "I'll see you at home."

Scorpius watched his best mate through the open door of his office. Albus cupped Calla's face, leaned down a long way to give her a kiss. She threw her arms around his neck and got on her tippy toes to kiss him back. When he pulled away there was a smile on his lips that Scorpius had never seen before. Not even with Anora. He would have tread carefully if he wanted to keep his mate… but he wouldn't be an Auror if he didn't accumulate as much information about this Muggle as possible. Paranoia was the name of the game. He started researching via an ingenious (and new for the Ministry) Muggle devise called the inter-web.

(It was perfect for looking up information on Muggles and Squibs living in the Muggle world that were doing things that might endanger the Wizarding world. Keeping tabs on Muggles was easy because they just put it all on the inter-web.)

Four hours later he was in the Leaky Cauldron with a glass of fire whiskey in his hand and the bottle next to it. Technically he was waiting for Lily but literally he was trying not to think about what he'd discovered. Honestly the only way Al could have fallen for a girl in a more impossible situation was if Voldemort had a daughter. He sipped his drink and banged his head against the wall behind him. What he really needed to do was talk to Al, but first he had to warn Lily about their new roommate. It sucked because he'd have to leave out something huge because Al really should hear it first… unless he already knew. In which case Scorpius hadn't a clue how his mate intended to deal with it.

He had the file he'd composed tucked into his satchel. He wasn't sure he should show it to Albus. He wasn't sure how he should tell Albus. He'd have to admit to looking into Calla's background and that might- oh who was he kidding!- it would definitely piss Albus off. He'd seen how protective Albus was of that little Muggle, how quickly he jumped to her defense. He would never appreciate the lengths Scorpius had gone to protect him. He'd just get mad and ignore everything Scorpius had discovered. Maybe he should tell Lily. She might be able to help him figure out how to broach the subject with her brother.

A green fire blazed in the grate. Scorpius looked up but sank back when he noticed the form was that of a man. He slunk back even farther when he recognized that man. The last thing he needed was more drama and James literally reeked of drama. But realistically the only way that Scorpius could hide from James would be to Apparate before he was spotted. It wasn't meant to be though. James rushed to his side, snatched the glass from his hand and guzzled it. Scorpius sighed and waited. James was sure to tell him any moment now.

"Kira and I have to get married in the next thirty days," he said.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Ruddy hell, you too. It's been four years what's the rush?" he took a sip straight from the bottle.

"What'd you mean, 'you too'?" James asked. "Never mind, Kira and I need to get married and I need a best man. As I'm marrying my best mate and can't find my brother, what d'you say about being my best man?"

"Why now? Why do you have to get married now?" He took another deep pull of firewhiskey.

"Kira's pregnant."

His mouth full of alcohol sprayed out over the table.

"I couldn't have timed that better if I tried," James chuckled.

Scorpius looked over at James with his mouth hanging open. "So she's not pregnant?"

"Oh, she definitely is. She was sick this morning and the morning before and the morning before that. So we went to St. Mungo's they said they had to run some tests and would owl us with the results. Well, we got the owl this morning saying, 'Good morning, how are you? Kira Fitzsimmons is pregnant. Have a nice day!' You can imagine we were rather surprised."

"How did this happen?" Scorpius groaned.

"It seems that when having unprotected sex because you're both drunk it doesn't matter how many times she says, 'Don't worry, it doesn't count, we're standing up,' you can still get your fiancé pregnant." James snatched the bottle from Scorpius' hand and filled his cup to the brim. "I figure it won't be all that hard to get married in thirty days. We've been engaged for four years. Kira thinks that Mum and Grand Molly are bound to have the wedding completely planned. We've just got to invite everyone, I need new dress robes and Kira needs a dress, but other than that—actually you have yet to agree to be my best man. What d'you say, mate?"

"Ask Al."

"I can't find Al."

"The family's having dinner at your parents house tomorrow, Al will be there, ask him then. Trust me he'll want to be your best man." Hell, he would be Scorpius' best man when he finally asked Lily to be his wife, properly. And with all the drama going on now it would be a while before he did. He wasn't going to wait forever to actually get married when he asked her or rush the ceremony. He just wanted a normal wedding, damn it.

"Do you not want to be my best man?" James sounded insulted.

"It's not that. I'm just having a bloody awful day. Look, if you really want me as your best man I'll do it."

"No need to sound so excited about it, mate," James grumbled.

"Well if you could find Al would you be asking me to be your best man?"

James didn't answer.

"I thought so."

"Why are you in such a ruddy awful mood?" he snapped.

"You know how Al's been acting weird lately?" Scorpius asked. James thought a moment and nodded. "I found out why today. He's been dating a Muggle woman these last few months. I met her today. Al introduced her as his fiancé."

James gaped at him. "What do you mean met her today? What do you mean he's been dating her a few months? What do you mean fiancé?" his voice got louder with each question.

Scorpius sipped from the bottle. "Your little brother is engaged to a Muggle woman none of us have met. He kept her a secret and plans to tell the family about her tomorrow night at dinner."

"What the fuck, man! I'm his brother he should have told me."

"I'm his best mate and he didn't tell me."

"Well he told you first," James pouted.

"Only because she's moving in with us and he wanted me to tell Lily before she got home tonight."

"Tell Lily what?"

Scorpius looked up. Lily was standing in front of his table. He took a moment to just look at her. Her hair was falling out of the bun she'd pinned it in that morning, the top few buttons of her blouse had come undone and he could see the lacy edge of her bra. He had the sudden urge to release her hair completely and rip her shirt open. It was moments like this that he thanked Merlin for Lily. She made all this drama seem completely worth it. Who needs a normal wedding when you're lucky enough to marry _her_? He held out his hand to her, she took it and he pulled her onto his lap. James popped up.

"And I'm out! You gonna get all touchy feely with my sister we're done-for now anyway. Be sure to tell her about me and Kira. I don't want it to be a surprise for anyone. We'll be telling the family properly tomorrow at dinner." James pulled his wand from his robes and Apparated away.

"What about him and Kira?"

Scorpius ran his fingers up and down Lily's leg and kissed her behind her ear. "Kira's pregnant," he said between kisses.

"What?" she pushed him away.

"James and Kira are getting married, more than likely in the next thirty days because she's pregnant. I'm honestly not all that surprise. They've been shagging each other shitless for years. It was bound to happen."

"I suppose you're right… it's just freaky. I'm going to be an aunt to probably the most misbehaved child in the history of the world."

"Something to look forward to."

Lily bit her lip. Scorpius could tell she wanted to say something to him but couldn't. "I never got my hello kiss," she said instead. He wouldn't push her, she would tell me when she was ready. In the mean time he gave her, her hello kiss.


	36. A Bit More than Unexpected

A/N: Hello boys and girls or gloys and birls! I'm not here to judge. PLEASE NOTE THE DISCLAIMER. Thanks. Please review dudes!

Disclaimer: In the next few chapters you will find out something about Calla at this point it seems like a good idea to say that there is a real Duke of Rutland and I'm sure he's a wonderful man I'm just borrowing the name and some of the info. This story is not meant to pass any judgment on the real man or his family or anything. For this reason I've changed the surname of the Duke of Rutland to something else. Oh and a few of the things coming out of James and Kira might have been inspired by "How I Met Your Mother" and "Scrubs." And by 'might have' I mean 'have.'

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown." – the commercial for The Tudors

**Chapter Thirty Six**

A Bit More than Unexpected

It was early morning. Grimmauld Place was utterly silent. In his sleep Albus rolled over and curled his arm around Calla's middle. She sighed happily and laid her head on the shoulder of her wizard. Calla gazed up at Albus and thought about how lucky she was. Had any other wizard come upon her she wouldn't be where she was now. She would probably be at home arguing with her father about her right to marry whomever she liked. She had gotten so lucky with Albus.

Not only was he smart, funny, passionate, magical and wonderfully kind, he was rich. Not that she cared much about his money but her father did. He wanted her married to a rich man. Not a man who earned his own riches but a man who inherited. Old money. That's what he wanted for her. The very best option for her father would be if she married the younger brother of man who was to inherit a title. Albus was a tolerable second option. A man made rich by old money, not his own hard work.

Of course Calla knew that a healthy bit of his wealth did come from his work as a dark wizard catcher, but her father didn't need to know that. All he needed to know was that she was getting very serious with a man who seemed like the right sort of fellow.

Calla's face fell. She remembered how Albus had reacted when she told him about her family. He'd panicked for a moment and her heart had dropped. It was foolish, utterly foolish to think that the only living heir to the Duke of Rutland could marry a wizard. Her great-grandfather only had one child, a son, her grandfather only had one child, a son, and her father only had one child, her. The dukedom would pass to her husband and then her son. Her father had only allowed her to work in the dance studio so she wouldn't get into trouble. He fully expected her to marry well and then stop working. After she married her only job would be to give him a grandson.

Calla laid a gentle kiss on Albus' throat. He didn't know it but he was the first man she'd ever kissed. Her father had guarded her from her infancy from all men. She hadn't even been allowed to play with her peers if they were male. Her father begrudgingly approved of her working in a children's dance studio because catered to girls and he reasoned that mothers would be bringing their daughters and she wouldn't be exposed to the male gender. The dark wizard who had taken her captive was the first man other than her father to hold her close. That afternoon in the front hall of Grimmauld Place Albus had given her her very first kiss.

She smiled at that kiss. It had been utterly perfect.

Calla's face flushed with the memory of how her every curve had pressed against the hard lines of his body. His job kept him in perfect physical condition and she liked to think that that suited her vanity. But that wasn't entirely true. Albus was so generous with her. Their first night as a couple he'd taken her on his broomstick. They'd flown over London, under an enchantment that made them invisible, and he'd pointed out the magical places hiding all over the city. He bought her butterbeer and pumpkin juice and jellybeans of every flavor even gross flavors like worms. But her favorite were the chocolate frogs that hopped around before you caught and ate them.

It was all so wonderful that Calla worried it would all go away as soon as Albus found out about her family. When he'd been quiet, unable to look her in the eye, she'd panicked and blurted out. "The Rutlands have been only children for generations. I'm the only one left. Trust me my father doesn't want to leave the title to me. If there was a male cousin a thousand times removed he would inherit! But there's no one. I've begged father to keep looking but it's hopeless. I-"

"Calla," Albus had said, gripping her shoulders, a determined look in his eye, "we'll figure this out. We'll make it work. I promise you."

She hadn't been convinced, but as per usual Albus had surprised her. He'd invited her father to the penthouse flat he'd rented in a chic part of London for dinner. He'd selected the penthouse to impress her father. It had done the trick. Her father was smitten with rich, proper, gentlemanly Albus Potter. A few days later her father had messengered some of the family wedding set. It included a pearl, ruby and diamond necklace, earrings, bracelet, tiara, engagement ring and wedding band all set in twenty four karat yellow Welsh gold. It was worth a fortune and she really hadn't been comfortable keeping them just anywhere so Albus had secured them in his vault at the wizard bank.

Until they actually decided to get married she was happy to wear the small diamond flower ring Albus had given her. While she had been eyeing the family set since she was a little girl, for now the sweet little ring that graced her fourth finger was absolutely perfect. Just like Albus. She might have only known him for a little over three months but she had no doubt that she loved him.

He'd done so much for her and for seemingly no reason. What did he really have to gain by being with her? He was a wizard so titles are meaningless. He already had plenty of his own money, so it wasn't that. In fact it was far more likely that he would get in trouble for being with her. If anyone found out that he'd told her about witches and wizards before they became engaged he could lose his job. He had everything to lose and nothing to gain except her.

That seemed to be enough for him though.

Calla sat up and stretched. She was wearing one of Albus' shirts that said, 'Auror in Training' over the front. It hit her mid-thigh. She'd never been in this state of undress in front of anyone before. Over the past few months she'd gotten increasingly more comfortable with her body around Albus. He'd taken to spending the night at her luxury flat. They only ever kissed a bit and then fell asleep. But he slept in nothing but a pair of boxers, so Calla had gotten the chance to see most of his body. She'd blushed and looked away the first few times but now she was bold.

Calla reached out a hand to trace the strong length of Albus' neck to his firm pectorals and rippled abdomens. The arm that rested around her waist pulled her into his chest. She giggled and gave him a few closed mouth kisses until his eyes opened. He reached over to the bedside table for his glasses before putting them on.

"There she is," his voice rich with sleep. He reached up for her, but she put hand over her mouth. "What?"

"Morning breath."

"You are absolutely mental if you think I care about that."

"That's very sweet, Albus," Calla said, smiling fondly. "But I'm not the only one with morning breath."

He pressed the hand not busy toying with the hem of her shirt to his bare chest. "You wound me. I think I'll need you to kiss it better."

She pushed the hand on his chest away, and blushing profusely, kissed his chest right over his heart. When she looked up at his face his eyes had gone dark. She could always tell what was going on his head by the color beautiful green eyes. She blushed deeper, knowing why his eyes had turned such a deep emerald. Albus cupped her cheek and pulled her up for a scorching kiss. All thoughts of morning breath seeped from her mind. She could think of nothing, all she could do was feel. He very subtle shifted them so that he was on top of her, pressing his whole body against hers. She gave little gasp when she felt how much he was enjoying being close to her. He pulled away from her mouth and began kissing his way down her throat. His hands slowly pushed up her shirt as his leg wedged itself between hers.

When his hands covered her breasts he was officially closer to her than any man had ever been. She struggled to remember why she hadn't let him even closer and why it was so important that she keep from getting closer still. She throbbed for him. She wanted him. She felt indescribably empty and she knew, she just knew that he could make all those feelings go away. She just had to let him.

And then she remembered.

Calla pushed gently on Albus' chest. He gave no fight, but he did groan and roll off of her. She straightened her shirt. "Albus, I-"

"I know, Calla," he said. "I know. Not until we're married. As per your father's medieval wishes."

Calla bit her lip to keep from laughing. "It is a bit silly, considering the modern world we live in. If my inheritance didn't hinge on it-"

Albus snorted. "I couldn't care less about your inheritance, love. And I don't believe for a second that that's why you're holding off. Whatever paltry amount of money your father's giving you on your wedding day certainly-"

"Fifty five million pounds."

Albus cleared his throat. "Well then…"

"I'll be getting the entire fortune once my father dies."

He laughed, humorlessly. "Which is how much?"

"Over two hundred million. But considering how much my father seems to like you he might up the amount that I get when I marry you."

"So we'll want for nothing. Brilliant, but beside the point. Whatever price tag your father puts on your virginity I think I know you well enough to say that you would never hold off on something you really wanted for money."

"But Albus I do want to be with you… that way!"

"Very flattering," he grinned. "But not entirely what I meant."

"Well do go on. This is getting rather tiresome."

"There is another reason why we're not rolling around naked right now, Calla. It's not money, it's not lack of desire, it's something else."

Albus hit the nail on the head. She straddled his lap and cupped his cheeks. "I just want it to be special."

He smiled fondly. "I know what you mean. I wanted my first time to be special too."

Her heart seized her chest at the thought of him with another girl. "Was it?" She tried to make the question casual but secretly hoped that his first time had been horrible.

"Not in the slightest. She was tart and I was an idiot and we did it on the dirty floor of a broom closet and I felt ruddy miserable afterwards."

Calla was hopping up and down mentally. "How, um…"

"Only two. My first and then my last girlfriend. Which isn't to say I haven't kissed other girls. I'm pretty sure my family is convinced I've shagged my way through half of London's slags, but that is thankfully not the truth." He sighed. "I wish I had waited. My brother inadvertently waited for Kira and Scorpius waited for Lily. It's like there's a… bond between them. They waited for just the right person and now… nothing can tear them apart. Or so it seems."

Calla leaned forward and kissed the corner of Albus' mouth. "We'll have that bond," she promised. She could feel his smile against her hair.

That evening they stood outside of the Potter house. Inside were Albus' parents, his siblings and their significant others. While she'd spent the night in Albus' house and heard Lily and Scorpius moving around Albus had kept her occupied in his room, with kisses and books and magical pranks from his uncle's joke shop. She'd never gotten a chance to meet them.

Albus threw his arm over her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at him and her panic faded. If these people loved Albus how could she ever worry? They had to be the best people in the world if they were related to him.

"You all right?" he asked.

"I'll be fine."

"It's just my mum, dad, brother and sister and Kira and Scorpius. Six people."

"Six. Only six."

"And you've already met one of them. Even though he was being a prat at the time."

Calla took a deep breath and smiled. Albus turned the knob and pushed the door open. Calla's eyes widened. There were definitely more than six people in that house.

"WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK!" Albus roared.

The crowd of redheads (with a few exceptions) stopped talking as one and looked over at Albus, who was fuming in the doorway. Calla gripped his arm and looked around with wide eyes. She'd been expected three witches and three wizards. Six. Only six. Who were all these other people? As the initial shock faded Calla began to recognize people. She'd seen all of these people before in the pictures in the halls of Grimmauld Place. She relaxed. This was Albus' extended family.

Albus grabbed Calla's hand and dragged her into the house. He elbowed past people and she gave them apologetic smiles as they gawked at her. He stopped in front of the pale wizard with long blonde hair that she'd met yesterday. Scorpius.

"How in the HELL did this happen? I was going to introduce Calla to the immediate family. Not-" Albus waved his hand at the crowd of people all listening in. "You're the only one I told, Scorpius," he snapped.

"I ran into James at the Leaky Cauldron. You know he can't keep his trap shut," Scorpius said, shortly.

"Apparently he's not the only one," Albus sneered.

Calla yanked on Albus' sleeve until he looked at her. She sent him a silent message with her eyes, _Be nice._

A pretty redhead walked up and wrapped an arm around Scorpius' waist. Calla took a moment to remember who Albus said she was. The girl smiled. "You must Albus' sister Lily," Calla said, kindly. "I'm Calla Cambray." She held out her hand.

"Lily Potter, for now anyway." Lily sent a meaningful look at her boyfriend, before grasping Calla's hand and pulling her into a hug. "I am so happy that you're moving in with us! That house has been a hotbed of testosterone for too long!"

"Don't get your hopes up, Lily," Albus said, pulling Calla from his sister's embrace. "I may just buy that penthouse."

He steered her into the kitchen before she could comment, shouldering Scorpius out of the way harshly as he passed. An older redheaded woman was standing by the stove with her wand out directing the pots and pans with a bevy of other woman milling around and one woman with pure white hair seemingly directing them all.

"Mum," Albus called.

"I thought I heard you out there swearing," the woman by the stove said, disapprovingly.

"This was supposed to be an intimate meal with my immediate family so as not to overwhelm Calla."

Albus' mother turned. "If you had told your father or I that you intended to introduce us to the woman you mean to marry we might have done more to prevent this. But considering the fact that your grandparents arrived demanding to know why we never told them you were getting so serious about a Muggle girl that you asked her to marry you was the way that we found out you were engaged I can honestly say that we have little sympathy. For you- not your fiancé. I'm sure it wasn't her idea. I'm Ginny by the way, dear."

Ginny Potter came over and pulled Calla into another hug. When she moved back to take a look at Calla, she smiled approvingly.

"Just like his father, his older brother and his grandfather," she whispered.

"I-I'm sorry?" Calla said, confused.

"Potter boys fall for redheads as a rule. I was wondering if my Albus was exempt."

"It seems not."

Calla looked over. An older version of Albus had entered the kitchen. She recognized this man right away as Harry Potter, Albus' father.

"A pleasure to meet you, Calla," he said, kindly.

"And you as well, sir," she said, shyly. This man looked so much like the one she loved. It was odd.

He smiled and chuckled softly. "Please. You're a part of our manic family now. Call me Harry."

Calla nodded and blushed.

The door to the kitchen burst open. "I heard Allie's betrothed has arrived!"

"Calla, this is my idiotic brother James," Albus said.

Yet another man who looked something like Albus. His eyes were different and so was his personality which shown through his pours.

"Charmed I'm sure," James said, shaking her hand. "This is my lady, Kira." Another redhead stood by James' side a wide grin on her face.

At a loss for what to say, Calla just said the first thing that popped into her head. "That dress is beautiful."

"Oh, thank you!" She reached behind her back and ripped the tag out. "Totally keeping it now."

"You got three compliments on it?" James asked.

"Yes. There's Calla's, then this morning you told me I looked 'scrumdidiliumpous' and the homeless bloke who lives in the ally by our flat told me he wanted to eat my eyeballs which I'm taking as a compliment because this dress really does make my eyes pop."

"You mean Crazy Frank? Crazy Frank wants to eat your eyeballs?" Kira grinned and nodded. "I have to pay him a pound every day, you know."

"Why?"

"I accidentally threw away one of our prototype baby pacifiers and he was selling it at the corner of the ally. I offered him a fiver but he said it was million pounds. So I made up some lie about the ATM—which apparently stands for Alien Time Machine—only letting me take out so much money at a time so I said I'd pay him a pound a day for a million days for the damn thing."

"I'm about sixty-five percent sure that ATM does not stand for Alien Time Machine."

"And that's my brother and the woman he's going to marry," Albus said.

"In thirty days," James said.

"What?" Albus' Mum asked. Albus shuffled them both out of the way, clearly aware of something that she wasn't.

"Kira and I want to get married in the next thirty days," James explained.

Harry immediately looked suspicious. "Why?"

"Why's there gotta be a why?" James asked.

"Tell me or we'll make you wait six months," Ginny said, ruthlessly.

"Kira's pregnant."

"James!" Kira exclaimed.

"I can't lie to my parents. I'd've thought you'd know that by now."

"Clearly. I thought we going to go to the continent for a few months after we got married, just come back with a baby and say it came early because I smoked. What happened to that plan?"

"I thought you were joking."

Kira rolled her eyes.

The woman with white hair bustled over. "No need to fret. Bill was early for me if you catch my drift-"

"MUM!" someone yelled from another room, probably Bill.

"-but it all worked out in the end. The important thing is that the two of you are finally going to get married. Properly married. And you're going to give me another great grandbaby!" She seized Kira and James and hugged them fiercely. "And you," she turned to Albus and Calla, "naughty boy. Keeping a respectable redhead from me," she shook her finger at him. "I'm Albus' Grand Molly, dear."

"Calla Lilly Cambray."

Grand Molly pulled her in for a hug. "We don't shake hands in this family, dear."

"Mum," Ginny said. "Could you hold down the fort while our immediate family talks upstairs?"

"Of course."

Ginny shuffled her husband, her sons (Calla and Kira with them) and her daughter (dragging Scorpius along) to an office upstairs. The door closed, Harry pulled out his wand and cast a few charms on it. Calla assumed they were to keep the people downstairs from hearing what was going on in the office.

Albus took her hand and led her to the large bay windows. They sat side by side on the bench with the sparkling stars shining behind them. For a moment, looking at the man she would marry, Calla thought she might be in a dream. Just her and Albus bathed in moonlight. Her father approved, his family was kind, they loved each other, all was right in the world.

That is until his parents started talking.


	37. All the Expected Issues

A/N: Thank you everybody! I love hearing from you. Keep up with the reviews and I'll keep with the updates. It's a trade, albeit one that sounds an awful lot like blackmailing my readers into reviewing but that's a choice I'm willing to make.

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

All the Expected Issues

Lily touched Scorpius hand. They were sitting on the couch before the fire in Dad's office. All waiting for Dad or Mum to start in on Albus about his secret Muggle.

Scorpius had been tense since yesterday when he had found out about Albus and Calla. Lily knew that the real problem was that his best mate hadn't told him something so important. She also knew that with Albus so protective of his fiancé anyone criticizing his relationship was immediately an enemy. As Scorpius had criticized the relationship and was inadvertently the reason that the whole family showed up to met Calla instead of just the immediate family, he was terrified of losing his best mate.

Plus there was whole Duke of Rutland issue that Scorpius was convinced Albus knew nothing about. Lily wasn't so sure. She'd been watching her brother and Calla closely since they'd arrived. Calla had hung on Albus' every word, watched him with love in her eyes and even chastised him silently for being mean to Scorpius. Lily decided that Calla wasn't the sort of woman who would keep something that serious from a man she loved. And Lily was convinced that she loved Albus.

"When Hermione and Ron found out about Hugo and Ruby they knew right away that he'd told her about being a wizard long before her brother exhibited magical power," her Dad said.

Lily gaped at her father. If he knew why didn't he do anything?

"It was decided that it would be best to let things alone because they'd been together so long and were both convinced that they would one day marry. I can't help thinking that we were very lucky that they did. Even more so that her brother turned out to be a wizard. It could have all ended very badly had those things not happened. So now Albus I have to ask how you met Calla, I have to know what you've told her and when you told her."

Lily glanced over at her brother; he looked like he wanted to kill Dad.

"This isn't an attack. You've decided to marry the girl, so there is no risk of her losing her memory. I don't want secrets in this family, Albus."

He was quiet for a long time. Looking at his feet then at Calla. He must have seen something in her eyes because he admitted, "I met her during the Marconi case. He'd taken her captive in one of the dance studios. After I'd incapacitated Marconi she and I began talking. I didn't want to Obliviate her. I didn't want anyone else to Obliviate her. So when Hugo arrived to take Marconi back to the Ministry I covered her in your Invisibility Cloak. By that time she'd already figured out what I was."

"When I was younger I'd seen a man holding a wand disappear and another man with a wand summon a giant purple bus. When I saw Albus' wand I knew," Calla said.

"I took her back to Grimmauld Place and we came up with a plan to see each other in secret until we knew how we really felt about each other. I certainly wasn't expecting to fall in love so quickly but I did. And when I realized the depth of my feelings for her I knew that I couldn't keep it a secret anymore. She's just too important. I also knew that the only way I could introduce her to the family would be as my fiancé. We didn't want to pretend like Hugo did with Ruby about her not knowing when she really did."

Lily took a deep breath and looked at Scorpius. She'd never seen him so mad in her life. She gripped his hand and some of the anger leached from his face. Now he just looked distraught.

"Are you really engaged?" Mum asked.

"I've already spoken to her father. He sent the family wedding set about a week ago."

"The Rutland wedding set," Scorpius snapped.

Calla paled and Albus' eyes blazed. "How do you know about that?" he demanded.

"I'm your best mate and your supervisor, after you spewed that pack of lies in my office looked up your little girlfriend and found out some interesting things."

Albus stood up and got in Scorpius' face.

"You had no right," he snapped.

Scorpius got up, the two men stood nose to nose.

"I'm your best mate, Albus. When I hear you're dating a Muggle-"

"I'M MARRYING HER!"

"FINE! You're marrying her. I had to look out for you! You've only known her three months, Albus."

"We're not getting married tomorrow."

"Yes I'm sure it'll take longer to plan a wedding to the daughter of Rutland."

"What is going on?" Dad demanded.

"Yeah. I am totally lost," James said.

"Me too. What's a Rutland?" Kira asked.

Calla sighed. "Rutland is one of richest Dukedoms in England."

The silence in the office was thick.

"Your father is a duke?" Mum asked.

"Yes."

"So… what?"

"For almost ten generations the Rutlands have been very lucky… in a sense. There has only ever been one living heir, but that heir has been male for ten generations… until me. My parents tried and tried and tried until my mother got cancer and died."

"I'm sorry," Dad said, gently.

"Me too, it was years ago but it still… burns sometimes. My father refused to remarry. He loved my mother and was certain that they could find a cousin twenty times removed to take the title. But there's no one and my father is far too old to have another child. Besides he likes Albus."

Albus moved back to Calla's side.

"I can be very charming when I want to be," he said smiling fondly at her. The smile she gave him was lovely.

"What will happen if you marry?" Dad asked.

"There is no _if_," Albus snapped.

"Please just answer the question."

"Nothing will happen until my father dies," Calla said.

"Okay what will happen then?"

Both Calla and Albus were quiet for a bit. "Albus will inherit the title."

"What does that mean?" James asked.

"It means that I will one day be the Duke of Rutland," Albus said.

"What about your children?" Kira asked. "They'll be witches and wizards. They'll have to go to school. How can the future Duke of Rutland go to Hogwarts?"

"I don't see how that would be a problem," Albus said.

"I don't see how that wouldn't be a problem," Scorpius said. "All of your children will have to straddle the fence between the Muggle and magical world. One foot in both. It'll be worse for your first born son. He'll be raised knowing that he's to inherit a title but he has to go to school with commoners."

"Commoners who don't care about his title," Calla said. "You have no idea what it's like, Scorpius. Knowing what your future is, knowing there's nothing you can do about it. I would have given anything for the freedom of seven years surrounded by people who just saw me as a girl and nothing more. I've always been Lady Calla of Rutland. I've never been allowed by the people around me to be anything else until I met Albus. And with him I am just a girl. I can only imagine this being a good thing. Having one foot in the magical world will keep my first son humble, knowing there are people out there, people he respects who respect him for more than his title."

"What about school?" Harry asked. "I'm sure your father expects your children to go to Muggle schools and I can tell you now that that won't work."

"I've already talked to him about it," Albus said. "I might have Confunded him, but he approved of my ultra private school that only caters to a select few. I've thought about this, Dad. I'm not walking into this situation blind."

"You won't be able to be an Auror once her father dies," Scorpius said.

"I know."

"You're willing to abandon-"

"You turned your back on your family for Lily. Quitting my job seems like a very small price to pay to be with Calla."

"You've worked to be an Auror for years, Al-"

"You don't seem to get it, Scorpius. Calla and I are getting married. There's nothing you can do or say to change my mind. And if you were really my best mate you would want me to be happy."

"If I was really your best mate you would have told me the truth right away instead of lying to me."

There was no more to be said. Well actually that's not true. There was plenty more to be said but neither man was willing to let go of their anger long enough to say it.

Three hours later Lily and Scorpius were the first to leave the Potter house and for the first time they left without saying a word to anyone. He was mad and Albus was mad and Lily realized she needed to stand by her man even though he was being an idiot. They walked up to their room in silence. Scorpius sat on the side of the bed staring at his feet. Lily didn't know what to do. She helped him out of his clothes and stayed quiet while he gently stripped her of her own. Their joining was slow and quiet and Scorpius lay awake for a long time afterward. Lily pretended to be asleep and eventually he rolled over and began to snore.

Lily was restless, filled with nervous energy. She got up, pulled on a robe and went down to the kitchen. Albus and Calla had yet to get back. The young Muggle was in hot demand with Granddad Arthur who wanted to know all about Muggle nobility, as there was no such thing in the Wizarding world. She made herself a cup of chocolate and went up to the parlor. Lily finished her drink but still wasn't tired. Her mind was a whirl with what happened that night. Nothing could ever be normal or simple. It was bad enough that Al lied about having a girlfriend but she just had to be the only living heir of a duke.

Lily ran her fingers over the spines of the books lining the walls of the parlor. For the life of her she just couldn't sleep. In a huff she pulled a book out at random and opened it. To her surprise something popped out and when she looked down she remembered. When Al and Scorpius moved in the summer after they graduated Lily had hidden the ring she found in Scorpius' room in one of the books hoping he'd find it and think he'd hidden it there and forgotten. It seemed that that had never happened though. Here she was in the middle of the night holding the ring she'd accidentally stolen from her boyfriend years ago.

Lily flipped the book closed and rolled the ring in her hand thinking about Scorpius. She felt like she spent most of her free time thinking about him. He had turned out to be a rather high maintenance boyfriend. If he wasn't freaking out about his parents he was upset over his best mate. And all the while he managed to avoid a proper proposal.

Lily threw herself down on the couch and laid her head back. Her Mum wouldn't have taken this crap from Dad, but then other shit had been going on during their courtship and while her grandparents (both sets) were dating. Lily held the ring up, gazed at it in the moon light and wondered how her paternal grandmother, her namesake, would have dealt with her family's current drama.

"She'd handle it competently I'd imagine," Lily said.

"That's very probably true."

Lily looked over her shoulder to the origin of the unfamiliar voice, squeaked and fell off the couch.

"Very graceful, dear," Lily Potter said, coming around to the couch. "You might not want to make that sound in front of your brothers. I highly doubt they'd ever let you live it down."

"What is- how are you- how is this- am I dreaming-?"

"Now, now, darling, we haven't a lot of time before Albus and Calla get back. That ring your holding, the stone in the center is the Resurrection Stone. Oh! Before I forget. Sirius has been pitching a fit over you finding it. Apparently he and your fiancé had a deal of some sort about a book. Something like 'A Marauder's Tale' or 'For Mischief Makers in the Making,' something ridiculous like that, so be sure to leave that somewhere where Scorpius can find it."

Lily stared wide-eyed up at her dead grandmother, with her mouth agape. Of all the things to find in her boyfriend's pocket…

"So," Lily pulled a strained look at her granddaughter, "I must apologize for popping in but you did invite me… Other than that I have been eavesdropping. Can't help it really. There's not much else to do except for listen to Sirius exploits. Honestly! Only he would remain the same coming out of Azkaban. Though I will say that it makes for something entertaining to do while the lot of you are sleeping…"

"My Merlin, how much have seen?" The thought occurred to the younger Lily that the older Lily might have seen her shag the pants off her boyfriend at some point. If she only stopped watching over them while they were sleeping…

"Oh don't be disgusting! Like I have any interest in seeing my grandchildren shag. Though I will say that your grandfather found out about you and Scorpius and freaked out a bit. He might have followed Sirius to earth a few years ago and threatened him. Didn't do much good as you probably already know."

"Wait! That was real?" the younger Lily demanded, remembering the odd dream she had in her sixth year. It had always rubbed her the wrong way. It all seemed too real.

"Yes. By the way I apologize for your grandfather. He can be a bit of a dolt sometimes."

The younger Lily shifted onto the couch and crossed her arms. She'd been very angry at her subconscious for making her father's father out to be such a meany, now she was just confused. It didn't help that now she was finally getting tired but Lily figured that was very likely due to mental exhaustion. This was all just too ridiculous.

"I'm sorry Grand-" the younger Lily began.

"Oh! I just love hearing you call me that!"

"Right, but… um… what brings you here?"

"Well… literally you did, but… ah… I've been wanting to see you for a while. It just didn't seem right that James and Sirius got to come visit but I was all cooped up just watching and waiting while they stuck their noses where they most certainly did not belong. But really, Lily, you did want to know how I would deal with this current predicament, didn't you?"

Lily bit her lip. When she'd thought that she would like to know how her grandmother would handle this issue she hadn't thought that she'd ever get the chance to ask but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Especially since she would be giving the ring back to Scorpius so that he might write that book about Sirius Black.

Mind made up, Lily looked over at her grandmother.

"In fact I would like some advice. My brother's being a dunderhead, my boyfriend is being pigheaded and if I don't stop one of them being dense their friendship is over and damn it I don't need a reprieve from that man every once and a while."

"Which man, your brother or Scorpius?"

"Pick one, they're both annoying in too high doses."

The older Lily smiled knowingly.

"Men are far more emotional than they like to think they are. Why Sirius got drunk at my wedding and told me that I'd never be as emotionally connected to James as he was. The thing is that men want to believe that women are the emotional roller coasters and they're the emotional rocks, as it were. But when one man feels platonically passionate about another man they also feel vulnerable and they don't like at all.

"To make it worse when a woman comes into the picture all of the sudden their mate is feeling passionate about someone else and they don't how to handle it. They could lose their mate to this woman. Some men, like Albus, can deal with it. They just don't worry about losing their mate and lo and behold they don't! Other men, like Scorpius and Sirius, freak out and act stupidly. Sirius tried to maul me when James and I got serious about our relationship. Scorpius doesn't know how to react. Albus, like James is to Sirius, is a like a brother to Scorpius. Albus is family, so he worries and in worrying he screws up."

"So what can I do?"

"Well you have two options really and only one I think you'll do. You can keep your opinion to yourself and let him learn that Albus isn't going to stop being his brother just because he's got a new woman in his life."

"Pass. What else've you got?"

"Or you can go back into that room wake him up and tell him to stop being so bloody stupid and that if he doesn't he will lose Albus."

"But you just said he wouldn't?"

"I know, but he doesn't."

The Lilys smiled at each other.


	38. Once Upon a Time

A/N: The information about the Duke of Rutland's castle below is all true. There is a website here: .com. Check it out its beautiful.

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

Once Upon a Time…

"… there was a wizard named Albus Potter and he had a heart like a sponge. Every girl he kissed he fell in love with, but after three loves found and lost darkness began to take hold of his heart. He lost his faith in love and women in general. Soon he took to kissing all different kinds of girls, some nice and others… well not so nice. It wasn't until he chased down an evil, if dimwitted, man that all of this changed. This evil and stupid man took a beautiful woman captive. It was up to Albus to save her! And when he did she was so grateful that she bestowed her very first kiss upon him. With that kiss his heart was lost. And they lived happily ever after. The End."

Albus grinned at Calla as she wrapped up her silly sweet story. He and his fiancé were visiting her father at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire. The ornate family parlor was private and reserved solely from the family; it wasn't open for the tour. And there was a tour. Albus had told David Cambray, Calla's father, that he would definitely leave the castle open for tours after he was given the title, but secretly Albus knew that that would never work. Hell a lot of the stuff he'd promised David was a lie. He'd promised to keep the staff, that wouldn't work. With his children running around and accidental magic spewing from them every once and a while, having a Muggle staff was a disaster waiting to happen. He'd promised to raise his children in Church of England, that… would be up to Calla. Albus wasn't a terribly religious man so it didn't really matter to him.

But Albus was willing to lie to Calla's father if it meant he could marry her. The biggest problem facing him at the moment was that David wanted to begin planning the wedding, he wanted to set a date for that summer. So far it didn't matter what Calla had to say, her father was determined. The pair of them went up to Leicestershire to try and convince her father that being engaged for longer than a year wasn't the end of the world and was what they wanted to do.

Calla told Albus that he would be the one to convince her father that they should wait for marriage.

Albus wasn't so sure. He knew that David liked and respected and most importantly approved of him, but he wasn't certain that the man would listen to him without another dose of magic which Albus was reluctant to do. It was one thing to jinx the man into approving of Hogwarts and quite another to force him into changing his mind about their wedding. One was vastly important to the future of his children and the other was rather frivolous to his thinking. Besides the thought of being married to Calla sooner rather than later wasn't scary but exciting. The sooner they were married the sooner he could have her completely and totally.

Not that he considered purposefully failing to change David's mind just so he could get Calla into bed sooner. Not for very long anyway. He was a man after all.

Long story short he would try his best. He just didn't think his best would be anywhere near good enough to change the Duke of Rutland's mind. The first time Albus met the man he'd been informed that David had dated his wife for two months before proposing and married her within the year. They were happily married until her tragic death ten years ago. David didn't need very long to know that Calla's mother was the one and in all honesty neither did Albus. He knew he was going to marry Calla. Their relationship, while not necessarily easy, was (at least emotionally) effortless. He didn't even think for a moment that he would need time to fall in love with her, he just did. It was natural. Like breathing.

It was also the very first time that he'd ever felt that way so he knew it was something special.

Truth be told he didn't want to wait a few years to get married. If he thought Calla would be okay with it he'd marry her tomorrow. That wasn't going to happen though and he didn't believe that Calla would be okay with getting married tomorrow or even that she wanted to get married tomorrow. He was aware enough of how her emotions played into their relationship to understand the need to take her feelings into account when thinking about his own desires. She mattered. The way she felt about things mattered. He had to think about her in everything that he did. Where would she be without him?

At the mercy of her father in his attempt to marry her off as quickly as possible and at the mercy of the Ministry which would wipe her memory clean of him as soon as possible if anything unsavory (i.e. death in the line of duty) should happen to him. For that reason he was actually looking forward to no longer being an Auror. Being duke would afford him some protection from life threatening situations and would thus protect Calla. And protecting Calla was quickly becoming the most important thing in his life, next to being with Calla, loving Calla and making sure Calla knew how much he loved her.

Really the more he thought about the more it was in his best interest to marry Calla as soon as possible.

Albus shook his head. It was going to be bloody impossible to talk David into letting them have a long engagement.

Calla got up and moved over to where he sat on an ornate (not terribly comfortable) couch. The whole house seemed gold trimmed, decorated with swirls and floral patterns and satiny, expensive cloths. Belvoir Castle was a castle only on the outside. Inside it was proper French style palace. The walls covered in frozen paintings of dead dukes and duchesses, china that is hundreds of years old and tapestries hand sown in the fifteen hundreds if not earlier. It was some kind of place to grow up. Honestly Albus hadn't a clue how Calla came out so normal.

"Did you like my story, Albi?" she asked, curled up next to him.

"It was perfectly accurate, if not overly simplified," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "And what about this beautiful, and might I add modest, woman? All we know about her is that she's beautiful? Oh darling, she so much more than that."

"Right well… the beautiful woman came with a burdensome title, an insane father and an unnatural attraction to handsome wizards."

"That attraction could prove problematic as well as unnatural. I do look an awful lot like my father."

"Albie!" Calla squealed, pushing away from him halfheartedly.

Albus kept a good strong hold on her and laughed. "Now, now, wait a moment. If you think I'm handsome and I look like my father it only holds that you have an unnatural attraction to my father." He began tickling her side, right under his ribs where he knew she was the most ticklish. She screamed with laughter and began to fight off his hands.

"Albie, please!"

"Please, what?"

"Please!"

"All I'll answer to is 'please kiss me,'" he said continuing to attack her with his fingers.

"Please, please, Albie!"

"You heard me, Calla."

"PLEASE! Kiss me!"

More than willing to oblige, Albus did. He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her with all the love in his heart. He rubbed his lips back and forth along hers with his eyes closed. Just reveling in the feel of her. In his arms, safe and whole, waiting to be his wife, waiting to have his children. Who was he kidding? He could wait forever for her. He felt like he already had. What was a few more years (or more likely months)?

"It's times like this, Albie," Calla whispered while his lips drifted over her throat. "That I think you would wait forever for me if I asked you to."

"I do hope you won't," Albus said.

"I like to hear that, Mr. Potter."

Albus looked over his shoulder. David Cambray was standing in the doorway looking approvingly at his future son-in-law. David Cambray married when he was forty five to a twenty two year old. They were married for almost seven years before they had Calla and that was twenty one years ago. At seventy three David Cambray was stumbling to the end of his life and desperate for his daughter to marry and marry well. Albus thanked Merlin that David thought his daughter marrying him was marrying well.

Or perhaps he would have approved of any man with sufficient wealth.

Albus preferred to think that his love's father cared enough about her happiness to only approve of a young man who truly loved his daughter. Even so he had his doubts, all of which became apparent when he moved Calla off his lap and stood to greet his future father-in-law. David took close stock of his suit, his shoes, his vest and cravat before shaking his hand. Albus already knew how much the older man despised his hair. The only way that Albus had found he could make up for it was by dressing in the most expensive clothes he could find.

Appearance was far too important to David in Albus' opinion.

David took a seat across from Albus and Calla in an equally uncomfortable- I mean ornate- chair. "It is very good to know that you and I are on the same page, Mr. Potter. It's long past time you and Calla set a date for the wedding. Her mother and I set the date the day I proposed. Calla's been putting me off for a month now, it's getting ridiculous. I was thinking a summer wedding. What do you think, Albus?"

"Well, actually-"

"I just think my Calla is a summer bride, don't you?"

"Daddy!"

"The only issue with a summer wedding is that in the Anglican Church the bride has to wear long sleeves, so depending on when during the summer it could be hot-"

"What if I think I'm a winter bride?"

"Don't be silly, Calla. Winter is a year from now. That's much too long. Seven months is long enough to plan a proper London wedding at Westminster. I've had it reserved since you told me you were seeing each other."

"For when?" Albus asked.

"July 23rd. We'll have to figure out all the other little details in the next few months-"

"Daddy, we couldn't possibly!"

"There will be no arguments about this Calla."

"David, Calla and I want to wait at least a year to get married," Albus said.

"I have the Abbey reserved, Albus. I've already told all my peers it would be an embarrassment to postpone it. You're middleclass, Albus so you don't know how these things work. The nobility doesn't wait years to get married once they've agreed to wed. I only knew Calla's mother for two months before I asked her to marry me. Nine months before we married and we were married happily for eighteen years. You've been together for four months when you marry you'll have been together for almost a year. Is that or is that not long enough? You know you love each other, you know you work well together, what else is there?"

And for the life of him Albus couldn't think of a thing. He looked over at Calla. She was staring at her father with her mouth hanging open. She knew they were stuck. They had to fit in with David's peers and alienating them by postponing the wedding would do little for them. Of course in the future they would have to remain at a distance because of Albus' abilities but while David was alive they needed to fit in. They needed to at least appear normal. In this way Albus agreed about the importance of appearances.

Calla looked at Albus and he understood.

"We'll need to talk about it."

"What's to talk about, my boy? It's a waste of time! Time we haven't got. We need to begin planning. I've been interviewing wedding planners and I've found a few that seem promising, but I'll leave the final decision up to the two of you. If you've got tomorrow afternoon free you can meet with them, select your favorite and we can get planning."

"Right, David, I'll get back to you on that one. Calla and I are going to take a walk. We'll be back."

Albus didn't wait for David to answer. He just took Calla's arm and led her out into the garden. They walked in silence for a while. Wondering around the tight English roses that were artfully managed by David's longtime gardener. There were fountains and sculptures hand carved by artists from Greece and Rome, it was a truly beautiful place. Albus wished they could get married right there.

"What are thinking about?" Calla asked, breaking the silence.

"Getting married here. Surrounded by the roses and the sounds of water. Just me and you, starting our life together on our own terms," he said.

"Sounds like a fantasy," she said.

"It doesn't have to be, Calla. I could jinx him again."

Calla smiled. "Would you ever forgive yourself for jinxing an old man? He just wants me married before he dies. So that I'll be taken care of."

Albus nodded but didn't look at her. He knew that her father wanted her married before he died, but he didn't think it was so that she would be taken care of. David wanted a male heir and marriage was the only way for him to get one.

"We might not be able start our life together on our terms. In fact it looks like we won't be. But once we have we can live however we like. We can live in Grimmauld place if we want! He won't be able to stop us."

Albus smiled and looked at her. "All I want is you, Calla. If you're okay with getting married in seven months so am I. The sooner I can have you as my wife the better. It's entirely up to you. I want you to be happy. I want you to rejoice in our marriage and to look back our wedding as day of love and joy. I want it to a dream come true for you."

Calla moved into his arms, got up on her toes to kiss him. Albus wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her with all his might. He hadn't known when he met Calla how much his life would be changing. Even so he didn't regret a second of it. He didn't regret how his family or mates reacted, even though they didn't react very favorably. Especially Scorpius. Though his mate was trying and Albus appreciated that.

He placed one last lingering kiss on Calla's lips and began walking back towards the castle.

"Now, we can control the wedding even if we can't control when or apparently where it is."

Calla laid her head on Albus' shoulder, an endearing habit of hers. She did it when she was uncertain, worried or even when she was happy and just wanted to be close to him.

"Where was that wonderful place we went for dinner the other night? In London?" Albus asked. It had been almost disgustingly fancy, not just in decorations but also in the dining options. All the portions had been tiny and expensive. It seemed like the sort of place David would approve of.

"You mean the Ritz? I would love to have the reception there! The food was delicious and the ballroom was beautiful."

Albus smiled as he and Calla reentered the castle. David was peeking out of the parlor. Albus moved Calla in front of him so that she wouldn't see her father eavesdropping on them. Albus nodded at his future father-in-law and was treated to a proud smile from David. He looked down at Calla. She was gazing up at him with his favorite look on her face.

Love, pure and simple. Just love and adoration. And joy which Albus liked most of all. She was happy. Even though they were marrying sooner than they had intended she was happy. That was all that mattered.


	39. Wedded Bliss

A/N: Sorry for the wait boys and girls. I'd love to give you an excuse but I don't really have one. Review or it'll take me even longer to update again! That's called a threat.

"Marriage is a partnership… but when married to a pregnant woman it's more of a one sided institution where the one making a baby is in a position to get anything she wants and the other one is obliged to provide it. Even if all that is required is a burger." – Danielle Juarez

**Chapter Thirty Nine**

Wedded Bliss

Kira was finding that being pregnant rocked and sucked in equal measure.

It rocked because she could (and did) eat anything she wanted, she was horny as hell and James was more than willing to oblige her and she got away with being lazy. Plus she got to spend all kinds of time with Victoire and Ruby both of whom were also pregnant. And then there was Calla who was busy planning her wedding and taking all the advice she could get from the Weasley/Potters who've already gotten married. So being as lazy as she could be Kira was easy for Calla to find which wouldn't be a problem if Kira was actually interested in helping the other woman plan her wedding. Which wasn't the case.

Meaning that being lazy was a double edged sward.

Being pregnant sucked because she was getting fat and beginning to wonder if she would be able to lose the weight, she very often got horny when James wasn't around and had to deal with it by herself and being lazy meant planning Calla's fancy, gigantic London Wedding.

But on the other hand Kira was getting the chance to get to know her future sister-in-law and making the pretty virgin blush was quickly becoming her favorite game. Plus as a very lazy pregnant woman (unlike Ruby who was excited to no longer be the only Muggle in the family and was actively helping her future cousin-in-law plan her wedding) she didn't have to go on any of the wedding related errands. Well the wedding got planned without her help so it all worked out in the end.

So pregnancy was an uncomfortable mix of awesome and total suckatude. At the moment it was more suckage than awesome. The Ritz was beautiful and the smells coming out of the kitchen were fantastic and the few bits of food Kira got were totally great, the problem was that those few bits weren't nearly enough for her kicking baby who was making his (or her, Kira wasn't sure if the baby was a boy or a girl and was referring to it by one pronoun or the other randomly) hunger known. Who ever thought serving fifteen tiny courses would make up for one normal sized meal had been out of their mind. Or minds Albus had agreed to this monstrosity after all.

She looked down the long table the family was sitting at. It was comprised of almost entirely Weasleys and Potters with Calla's father sitting by the beaming bride and groom looking appalled at the family he'd let his daughter marry into. Kira didn't know why. As far as this brunch could be they were on very good behavior. Of course Grand Molly had cried during the ceremony attended to by eleven hundred of Calla and Albus' closest friends and though the bloody abbey was filled to bursting with people Molly's heaving sobs echoed off the stone walls. While watching the ridiculously proper ceremony Kira felt closer to a nap than tears. But from the look on Albus and Calla's faces as they exchanged their vows and kissed Kira knew it was all worth it. At the end of the day the wedding is all about the bride and groom and so long as they think it's perfect, who cares what anyone else thinks?

The reception at the Ritz was a far more intimate gathering of five hundred and later that night they would have a ball, yes a bloody ball, with dancing and everything. Kira didn't understand how they expected anyone dance after eating so little food. Who was going to have the energy? She'd be lucky if she made it to dessert without falling asleep.

Kira certainly hadn't had this problem at her wedding. Which had taken all of two weeks to plan, had an attendance of seventy five people and had been catered by Grand Molly taking place in back yard of the Burrow like Merlin intended. And as she'd been pregnant then no one had said anything when she ate half her weight in delicious food. But no! You ask for seconds at the Ritz and the waiter looks at you like you've lost your ever loving mind. Oh because it'd been her idea to get pregnant! Sure it had been her fault but that was neither here nor there. Did she deserve to be starved just because her boyfriend was stupid enough to believe her when she said you couldn't get pregnant while standing up? I mean really who could have seen that coming?

Kira yawned and rubbed her belly. The earl of such and such sitting across from her turned his nose up. Kira made a point of scratching her nose with her middle finger. Honestly. She'd never been gladder that the wizarding world was without nobility. These guys needed a serious dose of reality. If the last war had taught the wizarding world one thing it was the people you're born to don't make much of a difference on the quality of person you are. James burped and Kira smiled at him approvingly. That man proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that your parents don't make you the person you are. Harry and Ginny Potter were two of the politest people she'd ever had the opportunity to meet.

It just goes to show.

The waiter put a tiny scoop of sorbet in front of her. Kira scrunched up her nose. She took her spoon and ate it in one bite. James knowing his wife pushed his sorbet in front of her. She gladly ate his in one bite, as well. About a half hour later (or so it felt to the hungry hungry pregnant witch) the evil waiter (as the hungry hungry pregnant witch was referring to him in her head) put a sliver of chocolate cake in front of her.

"Are you serious?" she snapped.

The waiter moved on quickly. Kira turned her glare onto her husband. It was his fault she was here barely eating enough to keep mouse alive let alone a hungry fucking hungry pregnant witch. James (who's self (and marriage) preservation instinct had kicked in around the second tiny plate of food placed in front his wife) slide his piece of cake onto his wife's plate. She ate them both in about three bites. She crossed her arms under her breasts and watched grumpily while a laughing and smiling bride and groom left the head of the table and went to cut the giant wedding cake. If that damned waiter tried to give her a tiny piece of that cake she was going to eat his hand.

Everyone clapped politely when the newlyweds kindly fed each other some cake and Kira grumbled as it was wheeled out of the room. The biggest bit of food she'd seen in hours and they were taking it away. Whataloadacrap!

After two bites of cake plus James' cake the wedding party moved (or hobbled because they're so damned pregnant) into the ballroom. James helped Kira sit down in one of the chairs situated around the room and plopped down next to her.

"Fancy digs, eh?"

"I can't believe Albus wants to get along with these lunatics," Kira said.

"Lighten up, babe. Some of these people are very nice and I'm sure you'll agree with me as soon as I can bribe one of these waiters into bringing you a burger," James said, looking around.

"You'd better not ask the sadistic bastard that was serving us at dinner. I mean really who actually survive on a sliver of cake?" Kira demanded.

"Darling, settle down, please. Every time you yell I'm worried James Jr.'ll just pop right outa ya!"

"For the last time we are not naming our child James Jr!"

"Well obviously if it's a girl we'll be naming her Jamesalina." Kira sighed angrily. "Or Kirames… alina…"

"Where's my burger?"

"Coming up, my love."

James wondered off and Kira watched Calla spin around the room with her father, Albus cut in and Kira smirked at the blushing bride.

"They're cute together, aren't they?" Ruby asked sitting down next Kira.

"Oh they'd be a whole hell of a lot cuter if I weren't so damn hungry."

"I know what you mean," Victoire said sitting at Kira's other side. "I kept eating the food off of Teddy's plate and it still wasn't enough."

"You'd think that knowing three pregnant women would be at this wedding they would serve larger portions," Ruby said.

"No, it's not chic to feed the guests at a party," Kira said.

"Well be that as it may," Victoire said. "If Calla asks us if we're enjoying ourselves what do we say?"

"No I'm starving to death, you skinny bitch?" Kira suggested.

"No, Kira," Ruby said. "We say of course we are. The ceremony was radiant, you look beautiful and the food was delicious."

"And then under our breaths' we say, 'we just wish there was more of it,'" Victoire added.

As irony would have it, Calla bounced over to them a few minutes (cough-complaints-cough) later and asked, "Are you guys enjoying yourselves?" with a giant smile on her face.

"Of course we are," Victoire said before Kira could pipe up. But her stomach came to her rescue by letting out a loud grumble.

"Oh good!" Calla exclaimed pulling up a chair. "I wanted to talk to- well all of you before Albie and I-"

"Hahahahaha! You call him 'Albie'?" Kira laughed. Ruby pinched Kira's shoulder.

"I wanted to talk to you before my husband and I went… to bed," Calla whispered the last part.

Kira snorted and after a heart beat of silence Ruby, holding her round belly, started giggling. Victoire had her hand over her mouth but couldn't keep the laughter at bay.

"Okay. Okay!" Kira said, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes. "When James and I first… went to bed… hehehe… neither of us had before so really we were just a couple of kids putting… well messing around and doing the bit we'd always avoided up 'til that point. But Albie- hahaha- has done it all before. So just relax and let him lead you through it."

"'Lead me through it'? That makes it sound like we'll be dancing or something!" Calla exclaimed.

"Well in a way you will be," Victoire said.

"But it's a lot more fun…" Ruby insisted.

"Eventually," Kira added.

"What's it going to be like tonight?"

All three married pregnant women were quiet. Until, as was her way, Ruby came to the rescue.

"Look at this way, Calla. If it wasn't fun and worth the discomfort you will feel tonight, none of us would be pregnant."

"That's completely true," Victoire said.

"And I wouldn't worry too much about tonight," Kira said.

"You wouldn't?" Calla asked, hopefully.

"No, Albus isn't stupid. Regardless of his male genitalia which would traditional prove otherwise. He will be kind with you and try his hardest to make it enjoyable for both of you. Which you should be happy about. James didn't get that until I hit and yelled him. And Albus is smarter than James!"

For some reason this made Calla's face take on a look of horror. Albus broke the moment by leaning his chin on his wife's shoulder and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"You ladies aren't scaring off my little darling wife, are you?" he asked.

"We're trying but she hasn't run screaming from the room yet," Kira said.

"Well, let me take her off your hands." Albus helped Calla stand up. "Come along my love, I have a surprise for you."

"I bet it's in his trousers!" Kira 'whispered.'

"Oh my God!" Calla covered her face with her hands and Kira laughed.

* * *

Scorpius, with glasses of champagne in both hands, tried to tactfully move around the masses of people who weren't used to get out of anyone's way. It was a constant battle not to curse the lot of them. He hadn't a clue why Albus wanted to be a part of this world. Everyone here thought Albus was a nobody. They were all up in arms about some prince from Wales and all the Muggle photographers outside the hotel were snapping shots of him with his wife. No one seemed to care about Albus' father who basically saved all of them from enslavement. Muggles are weird.

Scorpius stopped a moment to watch Albus lead his new wife out of the ballroom. There was a smattering of applause. Like it was impressive that the newlyweds were going to go have sex for the first time. Across the room a plastic pretty blonde smiled at him. In an effort not to be rude to Albus' peers, Scorpius gave a tight lipped smile back. He knew he screwed up when she came "seductively" over to him. Not knowing what to do he stayed put. He couldn't just walk away. She might be the daughter of some high up Count or something and he'd make it impossible for Al to get along with the bloke because Scorpius had inadvertently rude to the Count's daughter. Damn it! He just wanted to go home.

"Hello there," a seductive voice drew his attention. It was the plastic blonde.

"Umm…" Scorpius mumbled.

"You have two glasses," she said, holding out a hand, "may I?"

"Well, actually…"

Lily came to his rescue. "Actually it's for me." She reached with her left hand showing off her glittering promise ring. Scorpius wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to his chest in an effort to ward off the blonde. It seemed that Lily wasn't worried about insulting the daughter of a Count.

"What a… cute little ring…" the blonde mumbled snobbishly, before wondering off.

"Bitch," Lily 'whispered.'

"Baby," Scorpius chastised lightly.

"Oh, don't 'baby' me," she snapped.

"Bloody hell, all you Potter are pissy today. James is torturing the waiters for a burger, Albus was being a prick this morning when I asked if he wanted any pointers for tonight and I swear I saw Kira flipping off the duke of something or other during dinner-"

"Oh so Kira's a Potter, is she?"

Scorpius was quiet for a second. He got the feeling he was walking into a trap. "Well she did marry your brother."

"Right, so Calla's a Potter then too."

"Yes-"

"And I'm a bloody Potter, aren't I?"

"Babe-"

"Oh no you don't! I'm sick to death of being a Potter. I'm sick to death of my pretty little promise ring. My damned brother knew Calla for three months before they got engaged! And I've been wearing this damned ring for four years!" Lily pushed her left hand into his face.

Scorpius snatched the glass out of her hand and put both hers and his on the tray of a passing waiter. He took her by the hand and dragged her out of the ballroom. He stood by the bank of elevators unsure of how to make them work. The immediate family was staying at the hotel and Scorpius knew what to do once he was in the lift but had forgotten how to make them work in the first place. Lily pulled out of his embrace and smacked the buttons on the wall. The doors slid open and they both got on. Her with her arms crossed, glaring at his reflection and him roughly pressing the button for the proper floor. When the lift reached their floor Scorpius followed Lily to their room. Once inside he turned on her.

"All right, Lily. Lay it on me. Tell me how you really feel?"

"I thought I'd made that abundantly clear, Malfoy," she snapped.

"Oh so it's 'Malfoy' now is it? Not 'love' or 'baby' or 'darling.' It's 'Malfoy.'"

"No, you bleeding idiot! It's Potter not Malfoy! It's Potter when it should be Malfoy. How are you not getting this?"

Scorpius shook his head. He really didn't know how he hadn't seen this coming. Lily had been patient with him for four years. He could have asked her when she graduated only he didn't. It had all been running so smoothly. Why complicate something that's going well? Oh, I don't know, maybe because at some point your girlfriend wants to be your wife. Even if you piss her off occasionally. And even though Scorpius realized all of this and recognized that this eruption was due to another girl flirting with him (which she never liked) mixed with both of her brothers being married in the same year, he was still pissed because he had the perfect proposal planned and she was ruining it.

"You want to be married, Lily?" Scorpius asked, roughly pulling a small velvet box from his pocket.

"No, you toss pot, I want to be married to you!" she yelled.

"Fine! Here." He tossed her the box which she caught.

"What is this?" Some of the anger left her voice and was replaced with tense confusion.

"You don't know?"

Scorpius walked up to her pulled the box from her hand, grabbed her left hand and took the promise ring off. He threw it across the room, opened the box and pushed the five carat engagement ring on her finger. It was round with two small round emeralds on either side all set in white gold. It was delicate and pretty and when Scorpius saw it he'd known it was perfect for her. Along with the holiday to Spain for the five year anniversary during which he had planned to ask her properly.

"There. Will you marry me? Are you happy now?" Lily looked up from her ring and glared at him. She said nothing but started to violently undress herself. He watched her in confusion for a moment. "What are you doing?"

"You want to know if I'm happy? Well I'm not. But we're engaged so we ought to celebrate. Now shut up and take your trousers off." He was in her arms a second later and they fell to the floor in a tangle of half removed clothing and limbs.

Twenty minutes later Scorpius was gasping against Lily's throat, her legs still twined around his hips and her nails still digging into his back. They stayed like that for a moment. Savoring the closeness, the peace that followed their violent coupling. All of the anger drained out of Scorpius. He was marrying this passionate, irrational, wonderful woman. She would be his and his alone. She didn't like it when girls flirted with him well he hated it when blokes came on to her. But now he had a giant sign staked on her finger that said, 'Property of Someone Else So Piss Off You Wanker."

He smiled down at her and she blinked blurrily up at him. Honestly the proposal in Spain would have been nice. Romantic and idyllic. But it wouldn't have been _them_. This was them. Arguing then getting engaged and then celebrated with a shag on the floor.

"I don't know about you but I'm happy now," he said.

Lily smiled. "Me too, Love. Me too."

And if marriage was anything like this, Scorpius was more than happy to sign up.


	40. You Plus Me

A/N: Sorry for the wait, kiddies! Hope it was worth it and please read my two other fics "Oh, Crap" and "Settling Down Happens to Other People." Thanks!

"Sometimes what you think you want isn't what's going to happen to you or even what will make you happiest." – Danielle Juarez

**Chapter Forty**

You Plus Me

Stephen Wood sat under the giant enchanted tent in the Burrow's backyard watching his girlfriend dance slowly with her father. A few feet away her Uncle Harry was trying to do the same with his daughter and his two daughters-in-law. It was an impossible endeavor because a very pregnant Kira insisted on her father-in-law's undivided attention and Lily, never one to be pushed aside, was not shy about nudging her sister-in-law out of her father's arms. All the while Calla tried to stay out of the way when she wasn't trying to run back into her husband's arms. But Kira and Lily weren't having any of that, so the petite red head remained on the dance floor. They all looked so happy. Stephen just wished he could say the same for Rose.

This backyard bash hadn't happened until two weeks after Albus' London wedding and Rose had been acting weird ever since. Stephen suspected he knew why but Rose wouldn't just tell him so all he had were his suspicions. Albus was married now, her younger brother was married with a kid on the way any second and after the wedding Lily announced that she and Scorpius were engaged. It seemed like everyone around her was getting married or having kids. Everyone but her and him.

Stephen's face scrunched up as he thought. He loved Rose with all his heart. He'd loved her for years, since before she moved in with him and he got his hands on that delectable little body. But… marriage… His parents were married but he just never saw himself walking down that road. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Rose, that wasn't even a question and children with her would be great. But… marriage…

It just seemed somehow unnecessary to him. It didn't help that as an international Quidditch star marrying the daughter of two members of the Trio their marriage would be under one of those Muggle microscopes. People would be constantly waiting for them to screw up or photographers would be dogging his steps trying to catch him in a compromising position with another woman, regardless of it he was actually doing anything wrong. He just felt that marriage added another layer of stress on the relationship that wasn't necessary to a happy life or a happy relationship.

But now he had to start thinking about marriage in a different light. How did Rose feel about marriage? It was more than likely that she wasn't interested in having children without first getting married and that could be problematic for them. Oh hell it would be more than problematic! It would be a fucking disaster.

Now Stephen was smarter than the average bloke. He was well aware that making decisions based on suspicions about how his girlfriend was feeling was a very bad idea. He had to talk to her, or get her to talk to him. If he didn't he might propose when she didn't want to get married or propose when that wasn't the problem. And he'd be damned if he got married only to find out that that wasn't what was bothering her. But how best to go about it? No one knew better than Stephen that when Rose didn't want to talk about something it was easier to pry open an oyster with your bare hands.

He may very well have to trick her into talking about it.

"Hey."

Stephen looked up at his lady love. "How are you, love?"

Her lips pressed together. "Do you want to go for a walk?" She turned around and headed out into the backyard without waiting for a response.

He could feel his heart pounding as he followed her. The last time Rose had invited him to go for a walk they broke up. Whatever this was it wasn't good. After a few minutes in silence, Rose sighed and sat down under a tree. Stephen stayed standing up. He felt better on his feet, but not by much.

"Rosie, I-"

"Stephen, I'm pregnant."

Stephen chocked on what he'd been about to say.

"It's been about a month, um, ever since your first win of the season. Remember we went out and drank… a lot and then when we got back to the flat…"

"We didn't use the charm," Stephen remembered.

"Well, I realized I was late two weeks ago, went to St. Mungo's and… I'm pregnant."

Stephen stared at Rose lost in thought. This changed everything. He had to marry her now. He was going to be a Dad and they'd never talked about having children outside of marriage. He was sure she'd want to be married- wait a minute.

Ever since they'd broken up while she was in school they'd promised each other that if something was wrong or bothering them they would tell each other before it got to the point that it was serious problem. Why hadn't she told him she was pregnant when she found out?

"Rosie?" She looked up at him, worry written all over her face. "Why did you wait two weeks to tell me this? I've asked you loads of times what was wrong and you always insisted that nothing was wrong. Why did you lie to me?"

"You never want to talk about our future, Stephen," she snapped. "Or if we even have one. I thought this would freak you out and… I was scared. I didn't know what to do."

"Of course we have a future, Rose," Stephen said, dropping to his knees in front of her. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I just-"

"You just what? Don't want children?"

"No! I mean- bugger it, woman! I want children, I promise you I've always wanted children and ever since we got together I've wanted children with you. And I'm not just saying that because you're pregnant."

They fell into silence again. Stephen watched Rose wrap her arms around her knees and bite her lip. He could tell she was terrified. He only wished he knew what to say to make her feel better but he wasn't too calm himself so he was at a loss. It was absolutely true that he wanted children with Rose. Hell he'd have been willing to have seven children with her if that was what she wanted! But he'd always assumed that if they did have children it wouldn't be for a long, long time. But it seemed that what he assumed would be in the distant future was happening right now.

He cleared his throat. "So we're having a baby…" Stephen nearly choked on the next bit but he had to say it. They were having a baby it was the right thing to do. "… um… ha… ahh… married- I mean-" Just because it was the right thing to do didn't make it any easier for him to say. "Marry me? Will you-? I mean- what I want to say-"

"Stephen," Rose sighed. "We're your parents married when they had your sister?"

He didn't really like thinking about it but- "No, they weren't."

"So it's no big deal if we wait until we're both ready for that step."

"Two things about what you just said that are causing me pause. First your father will kill me if we aren't married when you have that baby," Stephen insisted.

"He has no right to talk, besides Uncle Charlie isn't married to Aunt Charlie, is he? And they have three kids."

"All right. So that's sorted then. You'll try to talk your father out of murdering me-"

"Worse comes to worse I can always tell him that by killing you he's dooming me to a life of single motherhood. That should keep his wand in check."

"If you say so."

"What was the other thing?"

Stephen was quiet for a while. This was the part he was dreading. "What if I'm never ready get married?"

Rose didn't answer for a while and Stephen started getting worried. He loved Rose, he couldn't imagine his life without her, he certainly couldn't imagine living without her if she was having his baby. If it meant keeping her and his child in his life he would marry her and he would be happy to do it.

"If you're never ready then… I guess that's the way it is. I might not like it but what we've got here is working. So if I have to take the bad with the good so be it. Do I wish it was different, yes. But I'm not going to have this baby on my own and I don't want to be with anyone else so I'll take it."

_She sounds so resigned,_ Stephen thought, _like she's giving up something she really wants for me. Like I'm taking something she wants away from her._

All of the sudden Stephen hated himself. Rose was pregnant, she was feeling vulnerable and dependent on him to help her take care of this life changing event and here he was saying he might never marry her, perhaps destroying a girlhood dream to be the blushing bride.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" he mumbled.

"I don't know," Rose said, standing up. She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "But I like you anyway."

Stephen smiled up at her and realized something. He was on his knees, she was before him. It was perfect… except- no! No he would do this for her. She deserved it and he loved her and they were having a baby.

He took a deep breath. "Rosie, will you-"

"Rose! Stephen!" Lily Potter's voice cut him off. "You guys, come on! Kira's in labor! We're all heading to St. Mungo's hurry!"

"Come on, Wood," Rose said. "You and I are going to be in that position in a few months we might as well see what it's like."

Stephen paused for a moment. He'd been so close and for a second asking her to marry him had felt so right. The moment was gone now and he was at a loss once more. He still felt guilty but the thought of asking her to marry him now was terrifying.

"Are you coming?" Rose asked.

He looked up at her and for a second he could see it. Her walking down the aisle on her father's arm, a smile bright as the sun on her lips, a glorious pure white dress molded to her perfect body and him standing at the altar waiting for her. And he was scared or nervous or unsure. He was happy, excited and so in love he had to declare to the world that Rose was the only girl for him and that they had picked each other over everyone else and that no other man would do for her.

The only thing was that he wasn't quite there yet but he could feel it, he could feel himself getting there.

"Yeah, Rosie, I'm coming."

_And someday soon, I'll be there._

* * *

James looked down on his yet unnamed child and tried to pin point what he was feeling. Kira had gone into labor on the dance floor in his father's arms no less and now fourteen hours later their little bundle of baby was in the world. He'd handled the labor better than he'd thought he would. Watching Kira in pain had never been easy for him but when it was finally time for her to start pushing she did so with so much focus and determination that she hardly showed any pain. Before that when the contraction had been bad she'd done her best to hide it from him. She didn't do a very good job, barely biting back screams and squeezing his hand so hard he was lucky he could hold his newborn child. But they'd made it through and so had his siblings and their significant others.

No one else had made it all fourteen hours but Lily had transfigured the chairs in the waiting room into a few beds and they napped through, as Lily put it, "The boring parts." As James' baby was only about fifteen minutes old they had yet to let anyone outside the room know that they'd succeeded in creating a tiny awesome little person. And so far the baby was awesome. The screaming hadn't lasted all that long and right now it looked like trying to eat fingers was the thing to do.

James looked up at the Healer who was doing something between his wife's legs. "He's a little light," James said. "Is he supposed to be so light?"

"He's a perfectly healthy weight, Mr. Potter," the Healer said.

"Are you sure?" James asked. "Because now he seems too heavy. Is it normal for a baby to be so heavy?"

"Was he like this before the baby was born?" the Healer asked Kira.

"Finish up down there, Doc, or I'm going to charge you," Kira snapped. When the Healer finally did move away from her lady parts, Kira sat up. "So our little guy is both too light and too heavy. Anything else wrong with him?"

"Do you want hold him? Maybe you'll be able to tell," James said.

"No thanks I held him for the past forty weeks it's your turn."

"Are you sure? Cause I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with him. Could you just check?" James held out their son but Kira crossed her arms.

"Two things, James. First I just squeezed that giant baby out of my who-ha and I have to admit I'm kind of mad at him. And second the thing wrong with my son is the idiot who both sired him and is now holding him."

"You better be talking about me."

"I can't believe having children with you ever seemed like a good idea."

"Give me a break Kira I've been awake for a really long time."

"Just pushed a baby out of my bajingo- I think I got you beat."

"Is everything a competition with you? Next are we going to arguing about who he's going to love more?"

They were quiet for a moment.

"Gimme the baby!"

"We're bonding!"

"I'm the mother! I'm the one who's supposed to be bonding with the baby! Give me the baby!"

"No!"

"What are you two yelling about?" Albus asked, entering Kira's hospital room.

"Albus! Make James give me my baby!"

"What the hell, James!" Lily asked, pushing her way in and snatching the baby out of James' arms and handing him to Kira. "She's the mother here. They need to bond."

"But!"

"But nothing, Potter," Scorpius said. "Lily's right." Kira stuck her tongue out at her husband.

"You're only saying that because you're engaged. A future wife makes good mates go bad, Malfoy. It's a scientific fact," James grumbled.

"You're out of your mind, Potter," Scorpius insisted.

"No, he's actually right," Calla said. "How good of mate was Albus to you when we were engaged?"

"Could we not focus on the past please?" Albus asked. "Look the future's sitting right there." He pointed at his nephew. "And the future appears to be trying to eat Kira's breasts. That's nice."

"Albie's right, what-?"

"Albie?" James

"Hahahaha!" Scorpius

"Yeah _Albie_ you're totally right!" Lily

"James let's name the baby _Albie_." Kira

"No way in hell!" James snapped.

"Well then what are you going to name him?" Albus asked, eager to change the subject.

"We're not naming him James," Kira said. "Or Albie."

James got up and sat on the bed next to Kira. "What if we name him after Dad," he suggested.

He knew Kira knew who he meant. Harry Potter had been more of a father to Kira then her own father had been in years. Even though the Fitzsimmons knew their daughter was pregnant they'd gone a European holiday and had missed the birth of their grandchild. As much as Kira had said and would say that it didn't bother her James knew better. Naming their son after the man who'd raised her would certainly show Harry how much she appreciated and loved him.

"Harry?" Kira said. "I don't know."

She didn't want to offend her father, regardless of how much he'd offended her. James kissed her cheek.

"Oh, good," Lily sighed. "Because we're naming our son Harry."

"You're pregnant!" Calla asked, clapping her hands.

"No, but in the future, Scorpius and I will be having a son named Harry Malfoy. So I call that name!"

"What a load of crap!" James yelled. "You can't call a name. Plus Harry Malfoy sounds stupid!"

"I agree with James, love," Scorpius said.

"You don't want to name our son after my dad or do you think Harry Malfoy sounds stupid?" Lily sounded insulted.

"That's not what I meant. I meant you can't call a name. James and Kira have a baby, we're not getting married for another year and who how long after that until we have kids. It's not fair."

"Plus you've got other options with the name," Calla said. "Like James and Kira can name their son Harry and you two can name your son Henry. Technically it's the same name."

The hospital room was quiet for a moment.

"Henry Malfoy?" Lily said, slowly.

"Henry Potter," James said, just as slowly.

"You can have Harry, we're taking Henry," Kira said.

"Unfair!" Lily yelled.

"I thought you wanted Harry," Scorpius said, confused.

"I did but Henry sounds so much better."

"Give it a rest pest, we beat you to it!" James said. He looked down at his newborn son. "Henry James Potter." Kira arched an eyebrow at the middle name. "What? I'm James Sirius Potter and Dad's Harry James Potter. He pulled my name from his name, with any luck Henry'll name his son James Henry Potter!"

"So we're just recycling names are we?" Kira asked.

"Sure beat coming up with new ideas."

Kira laughed. "All right then. Henry James Potter it is."

And even though Lily was grumbling about it, James and Kira's son certainly seemed like a Henry James Potter and, of course, an inevitable trouble maker.


	41. For All We Know

A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long. I tried starting it one way and always hit a wall. That's my clue that I need to try something else. Here it is! Hope it was worth the wait!

"Love is easy, it's relationships that are hard." - Me

**Chapter Forty One**

For All We Know

In all the years Rose had known her cousin Lily she'd never seen her quite like this. Lily Potter (soon to be Malfoy) was all things courageous, brave and almost stupidly in your face. She most certainly was not nervous. Not about anything. And never about Scorpius. The guy worshiped her. There was no way he'd've gone through all that crap with his family if he didn't live for her every heart beat. If Rose could see it there was no doubt that Lily did too. The giant rock on her fourth finger was testament to that. A rock that Rose had been silently jealous of since Scorpius slipped it on Lily's fingers.

Of course she wasn't jealous over Scorpius. He was nice enough and certainly good looking but he wasn't Stephen. No- Rose was jealous of Lily future. In about an hour Lily would be having the wedding of her dreams, she would go from Miss Lily Potter to Missus Lily Malfoy, she would go off with her husband and he would call her 'wife' and they would begin to build a life as a unit, as partners.

Rose sighed and ran her hand over her very round stomach, her eye catching on the large, glittering diamond bracelet Stephen had given her eight months earlier when she'd told him she was pregnant. For a moment she'd thought it was ring but no… just a bracelet. Admittedly it was a very pretty bracelet and her fellow mothers (Victoire, Ruby and Kira) had all ohh-ed over it, it just wasn't the diamond she wanted. While Rose knew that one of the perks of being pregnant was the right to go crazy, she refused to take her hopeless longing out on Stephen. So when they argued (which was rare these days, she kept things bottled up) Rose always bit her tongue before screaming at him about ruining her dreams of a perfect wedding and marriage.

Screaming at him about it wouldn't do any good, in fact it might scare him off and Rose needed him. It was bad enough her father couldn't look at Stephen without gripping his wand and muttering until sparks shot out the tip. Some days she was sure Stephen was one snide remark away from dropping her or that the only reason he was staying was because he was afraid her family would kill him if he left her.

Rose felt a small nudge against her fingers and smiled. Her little one always seemed to know when she needed reassurance. Even if Stephen left her she would always have this little bit of him. The door opened to the beautiful room they were getting ready in at the ultra plush wizarding hotel in downtown London (a negotiation with the Malfoys. Lucius demanded (if his grandson was marrying a Potter he would have his way on the wedding at least) that the young couple marry at Malfoy Manor, suffice to say that didn't happen) and Albus popped his head in, "Were ready when you guys are," he said.

Rose struggled to her feet until Albus came over to help. He took her arm and walked her out. They were quiet for a while. "Do you remember how close we were before Hogwarts?" he asked suddenly.

"Getting nostalgic, Al?" she laughed.

He stopped and turned to face her, "I'm serious, Rose you were my best friend and I got kind of lost in Scorpius and James. We promised to look out for each other and I feel like I failed. First with your dad being an arse about Stephen while you guys were in school and now…"

Rose squinted at her cousin. "_You_ didn't get me pregnant, Albus."

He snorted. "I know, Rose and that's not what I meant. I feel like I should be kicking Stephen's ass for this-"

"I had just as much to do with _this_ as he did."

"I know that too and again not really what I meant."

"Then be explicit, Albus, what do you mean?" Rose snapped.

Albus bit his lip and sighed. "We were little, Rose- maybe seven or eight- and James married us in front of all our stuffed animals. I remember because when he said, 'kiss the bride, Al,' you smacked him and then kissed my cheek. You told me after that there was nothing in the world you wanted more than to get married…"

Rose felt tears fill her eyes. "What's your point?"

"No one in this family will think less of you if you decide you want to do this on your own."

"Why would I-?"

"Because you deserve the chance to find a guy who will make all of your dreams come true." Rose covered her face with her hands. "If you want to you can stay with Calla and I, we have plenty of room for you and the baby. James and Kira offered as well-"

"You guys have been talking about this behind my back?"

"We're all worried, Rose. You've never been one to hide it when you want something. Everyone in the family knows you want a big fabulous wedding, the fact that you got a bracelet instead of a ring didn't go unnoticed."

"So they forced you to come pester me about it?"

"I volunteered."

"How gallant of you."

"Regardless, James and Kira offered to have you move in with them once they move into their new house. They've already got a baby, so they'd be able to help you with yours. Of course I can't promise they won't corrupt your child in the process. Hugo and Ruby said they would be thrilled to have you, and Lily said you could stay with her and Scorpius at Grimmauld if you preferred. The point is you have options, Rose. Hell you have a shit ton of gold! Why are you staying with a man who won't make you his wife when it's all you want?"

"Because it's not what's best for my baby," Rose whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "And while Stephen might not want me he does want our baby. Even if we end up breaking up sometimes in the future, I have to give us a shoot, for the sake of our baby."

Albus ran a hand through his hair. "Rose, think about you for a second. Do you want to spend the rest of your life following him around taking whatever scrap of affection he's willing to give you? Writing about Quidditch instead of your own writing- weren't you going to write the next great wizarding novel? All about our parents and their adventures? What happened to that dream?"

"I was a little girl when I thought that gem up!"

"You were eleven, Rose. And I know you wrote a few drafts- I saw them in your room over summer break when we were in school. It's like you're disappearing into his life instead of living in your own."

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

"That's an excuse, Rose. You might be afraid of being alone in this, but you're not. All any of us wants is for you to be happy. No one knows better than me that dreams change as you grow up and fall in love, and that life isn't just the things you do, it's the things that happen to you. But _you_ control what you do with those things, Rose. It was my dream to be an Auror, am I going to be one for the rest of my life- like Dad- like I thought I would- no, no I'm not. Calla's father could drop dead tomorrow and my life would change instantly. But I made my dream come true. So when I look back on my life there won't be any regrets. Can you say the same? If you stay on this path, will you _be_ _able_ to say the same?"

"I'm ready!" Lily exclaimed bursting out of her room. Rose pushed past Albus and hurried down to the ballroom. She squeezed into her seat and looked around, trying to think about anything but her conversation with Al in the corridor. She was supposed to be sitting with Stephen but he was nowhere in sight. For a second she worried he'd left, but he rushed in and popped down next to her a moment before Scorpius walked down the aisle.

"Where were you?" she whispered. He glanced at her and Rose saw something in his eyes that she hadn't seen since they broke up. A soul deep anguish.

* * *

Stephen took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart. The ceremony was starting any minute now and as soon as Rose got away from her conniving evil cousin she would be looking for him. Maybe. Unless she agreed with him. But she couldn't! Then again she seemed to think he was only with her because of the baby. But how could she think that? Stephen made sure to tell her all the time how much he loved her. He'd bought a house for the three of them- of course now that he thought about it he probably should have told her about it. That thought occurred to him only after standing in paralyzed horror as around the corner Albus laid out a very good argument for why Rose should drop him. To hear that he was destroying one of her dreams by not marrying her was bad enough.

To hear that once upon a time she'd wanted to be a novelist and that dream was not being lived because of their relationship was just too much to bear. Here he was a world famous Quidditch player, living his dream and at the same time denying the woman he loved her dreams. It didn't help that one of her dreams was something only he could make come true. Stephen had known all along that Rose wanted to be married much more than she'd ever let on. It had gotten to the point that whenever they argued Stephen could see her holding something back- stopping short right before she admitted what was really bothering her. It didn't take him long to figure out what was bothering her.

When Lily had burst out of her room Stephen had hauled arse down to the men's room to hide –er- collect his thoughts. He couldn't face Rose knowing how much he was hurting her. The very worst part was that he didn't know how much he was hurting her. The very worst part was that he didn't kniw how to make it better. He knew he should marry her- that was a foregone conclusion. If he didn't he was absolutely positive Ron Weasley would kill him. Why he'd ever thought his misgivings about the institution mattered a wit in his current situation he didn't know. Honestly he loved Rose. He wanted nothing short of the world for her the very least he could do was marry her. At this point they would have to wait until the baby was born but that was okay, he needed to get a ring and beg Ron for her hand. There was no telling how long that would take. But first he had to get through this bloody wedding. As soon as the reception was over he could drag Rose up to their room and distract her with sex. Hopefully by that time he would have gotten himself somewhat pulled together. He was not good at hiding things from his Rosie.

Stephen heard the band strike up and rushed into the ballroom- barely beating Scorpius- and threw himself down next to Rose. His hand instinctively went to her ballooning stomach, stroking his son or daughter through the layers of skin and muscle taking comfort in the soft kick that greeting him. His little Quidditch player always seemed to know when he needed to be reassured. And then Rose spoke, "Where were you?" and Stephen made the mistake of looking at her.

Her eyes went wide and her hand clasped over his. He tried to school his features but knew he was failing as tears welled up in her eyes. Unsure of what to do he looked away as Lily glided down the aisle. Her face lit up with joy as she practically dragged her dad towards the altar. Stephen rolled his eyes and looked up at Scorpius.

He had an expression on his face that stopped Stephen dead. The look was one Stephen had never seen before. At the numerous Potter/Weasley weddings he had never looked at the groom while the bride walked down the aisle.

_I mean_, he thought, _weddings aren't really about the groom right? _

But if the look on Scorpius' face was anything to go by this event was for him and him alone. His eyes were devouring Lily, worshipping her, begging her to move faster down the aisle. It was clear in this moment that any doubt he might have had had long since been wiped clear. There was nothing Scorpius Malfoy wanted more than to marry Lily Potter.

In one way that made perfect sense. Scorpius Malfoy had been head over heels for Lily Potter for… well ever. And she'd been mad about him for just about as long. It was a love that had seen them through countless issues, trials and tribulations. In a lot of ways they'd gotten to this point… Lily so excited she might Imperous her father (Harry freakin' Potter) to make him move faster down the aisle, and Scorpius looked two seconds away from running down from the altar to collect his bride.

Now Stephen fancied himself a rather sharp fellow but as he watched Scorpius take Lily's hand from her father and lead her the rest of the way up to the altar he couldn't help thinking that after all the Potter/Weasley weddings he'd been to- starting with Teddy and Victoire- and he'd missed something vitally important. He'd missed the way the groom looked and acted during the ceremony. Scorpius was… well he was beyond any description Stephen could think of. There was no doubt that this event was as much for Scorpius as it was for Lily.

Something shifted for Stephen then.

All of the sudden he thought he wouldn't be marrying Rose because she wanted to be married. He was mentally kicking himself for not watching the Potter and Weasley grooms more closely in the past. Clearly if he had he would have seen this look before. This look of-of-of triumph, of joyous victory. For surely James and Albus and Hugo had all been wearing it when they married. Stephen watched Scorpius make his vows and while Lily gave him hers. His expression changed ever so slightly as he spoke his promises, becoming more serious, more profound. And when Lily made her promises to him his eyes shown with so much joy Stephen felt like he was eavesdropping on something personal. He looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. All he saw was most people watching with barely concealed boredom- or in the case of the senior most Malfoys- contempt. He caught eyes with Albus who glared at him before looking away. Stephen supposed he really couldn't blame Albus for that. He had (unknowingly) kept Rose from her dreams. But could Albus (or any of Rose's relatives) really think that he would deny her her dreams had he known?

Stephen would have been the first to buy her book had she _ever_ told him or given _some_ indication that she wanted to write one. She'd been writing for the Prophet for almost six years now. She had a very loyal following and not all of her readers were strictly Quidditch fans. Witches loved her sharp sense of humor and often blatant relationship advice for dating a Quidditch player. Wizards read because of her descriptive style, which allowed every reader to feel like they'd been at the game.

Stephen knew that if she applied that skill to her parents' story she'd produce something fantastic and a million times better than anything anyone else had written. All of that in addition to her first hand knowledge of what her parents actually went through, would make for a truly sensational book. The biggest problem, from Stephen's perspective, was how to encourage her to write that book without her thinking he was only doing it because he felt guilty. Which of course he did but he didn't want her to know that or think that he didn't think it was a genuinely good idea.

Stephen was fairly certain she already knew he'd overheard Albus- now he just needed to figure out how to encourage her to write her book and how to… propose because he did really want to. He wanted the joy written all over Scorpius' face. His epiphany was the sort people had when faced with the very real possibility of losing everything they loved. He really didn't know what he would do if Rose left him taking the baby with her.

And Stephen just knew that if Rose left him now he'd never get her back. If she left now she'd be gone for good.

Spurred by the need to prove that she was _his_- at least for now- Stephen turned to Rose, took her cheeks in his hands and kissed her, pouring all his love for her, all his need into one kiss. Everyone started clapping and Stephen pulled away. He could see it for a moment, he could picture his own wedding. In the backyard of the Burrow, kissing Rose while everyone looked on and clapped. Making it clear to every man who'd ever looked at her like he would like nothing more than to take her to bed that she was just about as taken as one woman could get. And all of the sudden he wanted that. He really wanted it to be clear she was _his_. And would never be anyone else's.

"I love you, Rosie," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist to keep her by his side. Stephen tucked his head in her shoulder and whispered, "my forever love."

* * *

Calla at the table of the first wizarding hotel she'd ever been in, at the first wizarding wedding she'd ever been to and watched as her glass of champagne refilled itself. Across the room Albus was standing with his brother and the groom. Even though they hadn't been very close since her husband had kept their relationship a secret, Scorpius had asked Albus to be his best man and being the wonderful man that he was Albus accepted graciously. She only wished that Scorpius had been Albus' best man at their wedding, it might have bridged the gap between the two men sooner. But her father had insisted that it was only right that brother of the groom be the best man.

Not that it made much of a difference. The two of them figured it out in the end and Albus had gotten to be the best man at Scorpius' wedding. So it all worked out.

Calla wiggled uncomfortably in her seat. It wasn't that the seats were uncomfortable, on the contrary, they were padded and swathed in a beautiful purple fabric. No it wasn't the seat that was making her uncomfortable. It was her husband. She'd spent the whole wedding ceremony sitting next to James watching her handsome husband standing up at the altar in an immaculately tailored suit and she couldn't help fantasizing while waiting for the ceremony to start.

In her naughty world she was Albus' ex-girlfriend watching him marry someone else. But she wasn't sad or disheartened, no she was going to win him back by seducing him. After the ceremony she would lure him into the men's room (he would come because he secretly still loved and wanted to be with her) and they would shag in one of the stalls. Him doing that blush worthy thing where he gets on his knees in front of her.

Her face turned bright red and James asked her what dirty things she was thinking about. Then Calla realized the ceremony was half over and she'd been too busy thinking about her husband finding his way under her skirt to witness her sister-in-law getting married. Kira stood by Lily side, acting as her matron of honor (a term she resented to no end ("I mean just because I'm married doesn't mean I'm a thousand years old!")) making goofy faces at her husband and that did a lot to cool her arousal, but now that Kira was in the corner with James and their son, Calla couldn't help moving back to the realm of her fantasy. Locked in the loo with her man while he did wildly inappropriate things to her.

Now eight months married, Calla and Albus' sexual encounters occurred one of two ways, one more than the other. On their wedding night Calla had done what Kira, Ruby and Victoire suggested and let Albus lead her through their first night as man and wife. And that was how most of their sexual encounters went- with him taking the lead and her- more or less- letting him do what he wanted.

Calla rubbed her forehead. It sounded so bad when she thought of it that way. She always enjoyed it and he knew what he was doing. She didn't. It really was better to let him be in charge. Besides it was only in the bedroom. She asserted herself other times and in other ways. It wasn't so bad that he got to be in charge in the bedroom.

The only other way they ended up having… marital congress… was when she went to bed first, fell asleep and he got snuggled up behind her, waking her up and the press of his body against hers, got her all hot a bothered. But he usually didn't initiate at those times. She would toss and turn and eventually he would put her out of her misery. But of course there were those times when he didn't do anything, just fell asleep and she had to wiggle until the ache dimmed and she fell asleep too.

"Hey wiggly!"

Calla jumped and looked over at Kira as she sat down next to her sister-in-law.

"What's up?" Kira asked. "James told me you were all red and checking out Al during the ceremony. So…"

"Good lord, Kira! I wasn't- it was- there's nothing- I wasn't thinking!"

"Ohhh! You were thinking naughty things about Albie!" Calla covered her red face. "Don't feel bad! We should talk about sex. I'm not related to your husband and you're not related to mine, neither of us can talk to Lily, she can talk to us but that's not the same. If it makes you feel better I'll start." Calla kept her head and wondered what kind of embarrassment Kira would subject her to before she left. "When James is in the mood he calls me Mrs. Potter and asks me about my knickers. Now you go."

"What?" Calla asked, mortified.

"How does Albus let you know he's in the mood?"

Calla bit her lip. "I dunno. He just kisses me and takes me to the bedroom. Or where ever."

Kira stared at her blank faced. "Wait, wait, wait. He'll just walk up to you, kiss you, grab you and take you where ever he feels like?" Calla nodded. "Well what do you do when you want to have some marital bliss?" Calla bit her lip to keep from answering. "Oh my Merlin! You don't, do you? You don't ask him for sex! How in the world-?"

"Look before Albus and I got married my father sat me down and explained my duty as a wife. He told me that it was my place as his wife to submit to him in all ways, but especially in the bedroom. That's how you become great with child," Calla said, parroting her father.

"Well, sweetie, isn't your father like a million years old? What does he know about modern marriage? You have every right to go to your husband for sex, also you can say 'no' to him when you don't want to have sex."

"I know that! I also know that what my father told me was, not only incredibly embarrassing it was rather Victorian."

"What?"

"Look it doesn't matter. I know that my father out of touch and to conduct myself in my marriage in accordance with what he said is ridiculous and asking for my marriage to fail. Which is why in all other aspects of our marriage I stand up for myself and make my needs and desires known."

"That's all well and good, Calla. What you're forgetting is that sex is a very important aspect of your marriage. When you don't deal with it properly it can slip over into other parts of your relationship. And knowing Al he's noticed that you never approach him for sex."

"Are you serious?" Calla asked.

"Completely. Now, before I came over here, were you thinking dirty thoughts about your husband?" Calla turned bright red. "Right! I want you to go over there, wiggle your way into his arms and let him know that you would like him to shag your brains out."

Calla stared blankly at her sister-in-law. "How in the world do I do that?"

"Well just tell him!"

"I don't talk to my husband about having sex!"

"You'll talk to me about it."

"That's different."

"Sure it is. How about this? Just whisper in his ear, I don't know, 'I want to go to bed.' If you rub all over him, he'll get what you're saying."

"And when he takes me to our room, so will everyone else here!" Calla said.

"Fine. Don't. But don't forget that men are vain and when they don't know their woman is attracted to them they act _stupidly_." The infliction left little doubt in Calla's mind what Kira meant.

She gasped and watched Kira walk away. She'd never thought that Albus would take her timidity as a sign she didn't fine him attractive. It was quite to opposite. She found him immensely attractive but was so unschooled in any affection between a man and a woman that she was uncomfortable acting in a manner which let him know how attractive she found him. The idea that he would go to another woman because she failed to inform him of just how much she wanted him was abhorrent. She was certain that she would want him every day for the rest of her life. Now she just had to let him know.

Calla took a deep breath, sucked down her champagne, waited for it to refill itself before emptying it again and looked towards her husband. He and Scorpius were looking over at her, the groom appeared amused and her husband rather concerned. She stood up to make her way over to him when Lily careened into her path. The bride looked to have tripped over her cumbersome (but beautiful) dress and fell into Calla's arms with a laugh that suggested Calla wasn't the only wife imbibing on her fair share of champagne.

"Oh Calla!" Lily wailed. "I'm so bloody happy!"

"Oh dear," Calla muttered, helping Lily into the seat she had just vacated. "Have you eaten anything?"

"No a bite today! I've got some very fancy knickers under this dress and I'm not going to be puffy on my wedding night." She fell into a fit of giggles. Calla looked hopefully over her sister-in-law's shoulder at the groom, but he'd been distracted by his mother and had yet to realize his bride was three sheets to the wind.

"Perhaps you should have something, to calm your stomach," Calla suggested, pushing a plate of cake towards Lily.

"No way! Besides who needs to calm anything! Scorpius and have done sex to each other before-"

"No quite the wording I would use but then you are drunk-"

"Who's drunk? Anyway, it's not like you and Al."

"What do you mean?"

"You sitting over here- wiggling," Lily snorted and waggled her eyebrows. "I overheard Albus telling Scorpius weeks ago that they only way he knows you're in the mood is when you can't seem to sit still or stop staring at him."

"He said that?" Calla felt her stomach drop.

"Yeah, he also said that you would never come to him outright for it. Which is of course a very foreign concept in this family! I mean look at Kira- she throws herself at James all the time. Hell I do the same! And Rose wouldn't shut up about how no matter how much she pestered him Wood wouldn't give her his… well his wood-" Lily broke off snorting and giggling. "We're a family of very forthright sexual women. But here you are so demure and modest that you can't even outright ask Al for sex. I think it's cute."

Calla's shoulders fell. If Lily knew then so did everyone else. It was a wonder she'd been invited to this wedding at all considering how long her marriage was likely to last. No doubt Albus was looking back on his past conquests, strong sexual women, who had no qualms about asking him for his favors. She was prude, an icy frigid shrew who he would-

"But then you're not like me and Rose and Kira. You're you. A pretty little flower. A calla lily. You know I always thought calla lilies looked kind of like a va-"

"If you're done torturing my wife," Calla looked up, her heart dropping to her stomach at her husband's voice, "you're groom has something for you and do be gracious and accept it, Lily."

Lily struggled out of her seat, "That won't be a problem. I love it when Scorpi gives me things. Especially naughty things," she winked at Calla before fumbling off.

Albus wrapped his arms around Calla and turned her towards him. "What she doesn't know is that his gift is a plate laden with food," he laughed.

Calla gave him a weak smile. He leaned in and gave her a kiss which she barely returned. She felt her husband pull away, but she didn't see it too busy staring at her shoes. Albus took her chin in his hand tried to force her eyes to his, when he finally caught them they were filled with frustrated tears. He tugged her into his arms, holding her against his chest which only made her tears come faster. How could she lose this? Over her own insecurities no less.

"Darling!" Albus exclaimed. "What's the matter? Are you hurt?"

"No! No!"

"Then what is it?" he all but begged.

"I-I- Can we not do this here?" Calla asked, suddenly all too aware of the crowd of people in the room.

Albus gripped his wand and they vanished, only to reappear in their hotel room. Calla pulled out of his arms and tried to move away, but he caught her arm, turning her toward him. "Tell me," he demanded.

The tears fell down her face and everything she'd been feeling since Kira sat down next to her broke free and she sobbed. "I'm a frigid shrew! Kira explained it all! I can't tell you how much I-I- Ohh! I can't even say it now and you'll find someone who can and leave me!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" he snapped.

"Lily told me you'd noticed that I- I never- I never approach you for-"

"Fuck! Scorpius told Lily that!"

"No she overheard!" Calla said, desperately hoping to avoid another falling out between the two. "She overheard and she told me."

"Well then, if she told you what I told Scorpius I don't understand what the problem is."

"It wasn't so much what Lily said, it was Kira- she said that you'd do something stupid if I didn't tell you- and it all became so clear. I'm such a prude and so frigid-"

"Stop calling yourself that! It's so far from the truth I feel like you're lying to me."

"But I am!"

"You're not," Albus cupped Calla's cheeks in his hands and looked down at her with so much love in his eyes, her heart broke with it. "Lily obviously didn't hear how much I like your _modesty_. I love the fact I'm the only man to drive you wild," he smirked.

"I can't see how you could love the fact that I can't even say it!"

"But you do say it." Albus said, patiently. "Your body says it. You wiggle around and turn bright red and can't stop looking at me. When you're feeling randy you're whole body screams it."

"But Kira said-"

Albus rolled his eyes. "Kira's a slag."

"Albus!"

"Not in the conventional sense. She's a slag for my brother. She can say it because she's saying to him or about him. Kira's in your face about everything. But you are not Kira. And thank Merlin for that. Because I don't love Kira, I love you. I love your wiggle and your blush and your stare. If you're not comfortable saying it then don't. I'm not as dense as my brother. I don't need to hear that you want me to know that you do."

Calla wrapped her arms around Albus' neck and thought once again about how luck she was to have him. To know that he loved her was one thing. You could love some things about someone and not others but Albus loved everything about her. Like her odd inability to outright tell him she wanted him with her words.

She wiggled in his arms and felt her cheeks flush with blood before pulling away just enough to look at him. He really did look dashing in his suit. And Albus took it from there.


	42. Muggle Chat Shows

A/N: Longish chapter with a not very long wait. Please enjoy and do review. Thanks!

"Television only rots already rotten minds." - Me

**Chapter Forty Two**

Lessons Learned from Muggle Chat Shows

Albus hated it when he felt forced to act like the rest of his family. You know, crazy. And nosy. Because right now he felt like he was being both. Stephen had sent him a letter a few days before telling him that he (Stephen) had asked Uncle Ron for permission to marry Rose which Uncle Ron had reluctantly granted. Now Stephen needed to buy a ring. With Lily off on her honeymoon, James or Kira not even an option, Stephen was wondering if Albus and Calla would help him get the perfect ring for Rose. Of course Albus asked why he hadn't gone to Hugo and Ruby. To which Stephen told him Ruby was too busy with the baby and her Muggle schooling and Hugo was working double time with Scorpius away. Seeing no other option, Albus spoke to Calla and they agreed. And now Albus found himself hovering around his wife as she tried to steer Stephen away from anything too "gaudy."

All of this would be fine if Albus hadn't spent a tense few minutes before Lily's wedding trying to talk Rose into dropping the bloke currently trying to buy her the most expensive engagement ring he could find. He wanted to do something with Puddlemere colors but Calla put a stop to that insisting no woman wanted an engagement ring that had anything to do with sports. So then he moved to Gryffindor colors but quickly changed his mind as both Calla's and Kira's rings were red and gold. He started talking about designing one himself and Calla gave Albus a look which he knew meant he was allowed to hex someone. He didn't really want to hex Stephen. He wanted to sit him down, trick him into drinking some truth telling potion and find out what was behind his change of heart. A few weeks ago Stephen Wood was about as close to marriage as Albus was to divorce (i.e. nowhere).

Albus was momentarily distracted by a very big, very beautiful diamond necklace in the case which he thought Calla would look fantastic wearing. _Of course, _he thought, _she wouldn't want to wear anything else, lest it distract from my oh-so-generous gift._ He smiled lustily at her bum as she bent over a case when-

The door flew open, everyone's heads went up and before Albus knew what was happening a pair of lips were sealed over his. A pair of lips he hadn't felt in years. He pushed her away and looked at his wife over Anora Thomas' head. Calla was staring at him wide eyed, mouth agape.

"Albus!" Anora said, throwing her arms around his neck, "I can't believe it! It's been ages. I know I should have written but I got transferred to the- well you wouldn't know them- a German team. Then a few weeks ago I got transferred again to the English National Team! Can you believe it? With any luck I'll be playing in the World Cup! So everything's been crazy. I haven't even been in the country for- Merlin two year, now! We need to catch up. When are you free? Did James and Kira ever get married? What about Lily and Scorpius?"

"Um," Albus said, still watching Calla. "I don't think I'll be free…"

"What tonight?" Anora asked. "When then?"

"Um, ever," Albus said, reading the look on Calla's face. "I'm happily married."

"What?" Anora laughed. "It can't have been more than two or three years since I last saw you! You're pulling my leg! It's not nice to take the mickey out on your girlfriend."

"Anora, we broke up after graduation." A sense of foreboding filled Albus' stomach. He had the feeling he may have been a jerk without realizing it.

"That didn't stop you sleeping with me every time I was in the country."

"Which was _years_ ago, Anora. I haven't heard anything from you for three years."

"So it was all on me then? You couldn't write me-?"

"I met someone, fell in love and got married. You'll forgive me if writing my ex slipped my mind."

Albus couldn't believe he was having this conversation with her. He and Anora had only ever argued about Persephone (who he happened to know was happily married to her third husband). But here she was looking at him like he'd cheated on her with his own wife.

It seemed Calla had shaken off her surprise and sidled up to her husband. "What, may I ask, would you like my _husband_ to say, hmmm?" she asked, pursing her lips and flashing her large ruby and diamond ring.

("See that?" Stephen whispered to the sales associate. "That's what I want. A ring my Rosie can flash in other birds' faces. Something big and showy but classy, as well.")

"Where in the hell did you find this one?" Anora asked, rudely. "You know she's probably just like Daisy!"

Albus froze. "I told you that in confidence!" he hissed. He wrapped his arm around Calla's waist. "Wood, we're going." He headed for the door dragging Calla along with him, trusting that Stephen would hand the giant ugly ring in his hand back to the associate and follow them.

Calla pulled out of his arms and led the way back towards the Leaky Cauldron. She stopped in front of the wall and looked pointedly at her husband. Albus felt it was best not to say anything to her and just do what she seemed to want him to. She made her way through the pub out to Muggle London. She turned on Albus and Stephen.

"We are going to Harry Winston and if we can't find anything there, we'll go to Chanel. Worse comes to worse we'll go to Apery and Garrard. That's who made my ring, but they can rather snooty and I'd rather not have to throw around my father's name today."

Stephen and Albus followed her onto the tube and out to the fancy jewelry store. It looked like a museum to Albus but Calla seemed in her element yanking Stephen from one sparkling ring to the next. Albus looked over the glittering gems all around him and thought that he really ought to buy Calla something as an apology. Sure he hadn't done anything to make Anora kiss him but he did date her and then fool around with her after they broke up. He needed to make it up to her.

An associate walked up to him, "Is there anything I can help you find?"

"Yes, that necklace," he pointed at necklace of giant tear drop diamonds, "how much is that?"

The associate pulled it out and started talking about carat weight and the quality of the diamonds and whatnot, Albus wasn't really listening. All that mattered was that it was beautiful and Calla would love it. He felt a hand on his shoulder, when he turned Calla was there, biting her lip.

"One thing I don't understand," she whispered, flicking her eyes to the associate who was lingering.

"We need to think about it, if you could give us a moment." Looking disappointed the associate left. "What is it, love?"

"Who's Daisy and why was it such a big deal that _she_ talked about her?"

Albus had told Calla about most of his life, she knew his dad was famous and why, and that he'd seen other girls before her. And that none of those girls had been any good for him. He hadn't wanted to go farther into it then that. He knew Calla was insecure about his sexual past so he never went too deeply into it.

Albus cleared his throat. "Daisy was my first girlfriend. I really liked her, a lot more than she liked me… she kept me on the line for… longer than I'm proud to say. I didn't realize that she was… messing with me until Kira overheard her talking with a friend. It wasn't pretty, I dropped her."

Calla stared at him for a second. "That's not everything, Albus! There's something else. Tell me."

He brought his head down to her ear. "When she told her parents that I fancied her, her parents… forced her to stay on with me because of my famous relatives… and then when she realized she wasn't interested in me that way, she started dating someone else behind my back."

Albus could see the fury mounting on Calla's face as she realized exactly what Anora was accusing her of. He gripped her hips to keep her from storming back to Diagon Alley. "Calla, after I dropped Daisy I thought about who my perfect woman was. And I thought that she would a Muggle, who had perhaps seen too much and come the right conclusion. Who would've known that Wizards exist but knew nothing about our history. I was fifteen, I was thinking about you and I didn't even know it."

Calla turned pink and appeared to be battling the urge to smile. "I- oh God no!" Calla rushed back over to Stephen who was on the verge of handing over the Muggle card Calla had provided for him in exchange for the gaudiest ring Albus had ever seen.

The associate appeared again. Albus didn't look up as he pulled out his card, "I'll take it."

"It's two hundred thousand dollars, sir. Would you like to sign up for our credit card-?"

"No!" Calla snapped. "No he wouldn't. We will take the necklace, no credit card."

Albus handed the woman his card and followed his wife. "I thought that little card was a credit card?"

"It is, but it's from the bank. The interest rate is much, much lower than a card in a store like this. Never open a credit card at a store. I don't think you could anyway. You don't have the proper papers for it."

"Sir, you need to come over here and sign for your purchase."

Calla scrabbled over to sign on some black box for Albus which was good because he was certain it was some Muggle thing he wouldn't know what to do with. She came back with a bag, pushed the ring out of Stephen's hand and dragged them both out of the store.

"We're going to Aspery and Garrard. Probably Garrard first, they do some interesting things with yellow diamonds."

"Hufflepuff colors?" Stephen said, grimacing.

"Look, you want something unique, beautiful and all her own, right?" Stephen nodded. "Then you're going to have to consider buying a colored diamond and I happen to think that yellow diamonds are beautiful."

Albus filed this piece of information away for future reference. And as it turned out, Calla picked out a yellow diamond ring from Garrard that Stephen happened to love and cost him a small fortune. Albus picked out a yellow diamond bracelet and earrings to go with Calla's necklace. He knew she was happier than she'd been now that he'd told her about Daisy and about his definition of his perfect woman but every once and a while he would see her biting her lip and looking upset.

He had to wonder if it was because Anora had kissed him. In all honesty he wasn't too happy about that. When he married Calla he had thought that her's were the last lips he would ever kiss, but now he felt somehow… sullied. Unclean. It certainly didn't help that Anora had been such a… well, such a bitch. And he'd always thought that Anora had been the best girl he'd dated in his Hogwarts days.

But somewhere along the line there had been a miscommunication. It seemed like Anora had thought they had some sort of unspoken agreement not to see anyone else until she was back in the country. It seemed ridiculous to Albus that he would wait for her, not knowing when or if she would ever return to the U.K. It was one thing when she was in Wales and only a Floo ride away, but Germany? That was pushing it. And as he recalled, he wrote Anora a few months before he met Calla and she never wrote him back. It made no sense.

What he really wanted was to talk to Scorpius, but he was out of the country for another week.

"Can we go see Kira and James?" Calla asked.

They were sitting in a taxi heading back to their penthouse. Albus felt his stomach drop, he was right. Calla was still upset. He'd never been this pissed about being correct.

"Love, if you still want to talk about what happened-"

"I do, but I want to talk to a woman. Of course I'd prefer your sister, but with her being in Paris…"

"You could talk to me."

"It's not the same."

"And you don't know how much I wish it was," he muttered.

"Albie-"

"Look I know I fucked up. Anora and I never really talked about the-the state of our relationship. And she certainly made it look like I cheated her with you. I don't want you to think that-"

"I don't think that, Albie! I really just want to talk to a girl. If I felt like I could go to Ruby and not be butting in on her schooling or mothering I would. Really I wouldn't go to Kira if I felt like I could go to someone else."

Albus snorted.

"Yeah I was thinking the same thing with James. And only because I know Hugo would kill me if I pestered him at work and I'm sure Scorpius would kill me if I interrupted his honeymoon."

"I would never let you bother Lily and Scorpius on their honeymoon," Calla said, crossing her arms and looking tetchy. "Just think if Scorpius had interrupted us during our honeymoon."

Albus smiled as he remembered their honeymoon. "I would have killed him."

Calla smiled, triumphantly. "See?"

"James and Kira's it is."

Albus leaned forward and gave the directions to his brother's house in Windsor, Calla stuffed a wad of Muggle cash into his hand to give to the driver. Albus did and all of the sudden the driver seemed in a better mood about going the extra distance. He got them to Windsor in record time and Albus gave him even more money at Calla's instruction.

They made their way up to James and Kira's comfortable two story cottage. There was no question if they would be home on a Saturday afternoon. With a very young son and their belief that weekends mean no work (straight from their school days during which they would contentedly do nothing all weekend long regardless of what was due Monday morning) Albus was sure they would be there. Whether or not either of them would get up to answer the door was another question entirely.

Albus knocked, no one answered but he heard his Kira swearing and banging around. Albus held his wand behind his suit jacket and with a flick the door opened.

Kira stumbled out of the kitchen to see who was in her home. "Oh hey, Al, Calla. What's up?"

Albus opened his mouth, but closed it when he looked at his wife. "Where's James?" He had no right to say what was bothering his wife but he knew what was bothering him.

"He's upstairs trying to talk Henry into taking a nap."

"Ohh! Henry's speaking?" Calla squealed excitedly.

"Well, for what it's worth James is speaking."

Albus snorted and went up to the nursery, watching as Calla followed Kira back into the kitchen. He didn't have much hope that their conversation would go well. The last time Kira gave Calla advice she'd convinced his wife that he was going to cheat on her unless she was a bit more forthright in the bedroom. He could only image how this was going to go.

Albus could hear Henry screaming from the hall. He stood waiting for a moment to see what James would do when the screaming suddenly cut off, startled Albus rushed into the room. Sticking out of Henry's crib where his brother's legs. Unable to understand exactly what was happening (and mildly worried James had lain upon his own son to get him to stop crying) he walked over to the crib and breathed a sigh of relief. Henry was laying on top of his father, who, it seemed, had climbed into bed with him in order to calm him down.

"Oh, hey, Al," James said, stroking Henry's back as the messy haired baby got comfortable on his daddy's chest.

"You know you could've picked him up," Albus suggested.

"Kira wants him to get used to falling asleep in his crib. Don't tell her but for me this is the only thing that works. She keeps telling me to just let him cry until he falls asleep but I just… can't do it."

Albus smiled down at his brother. "That was rather sweet, James."

"Plus if he subconsciously remembers that I never let him scream until he passed out when he's older I'll be his favorite."

"And now it's not."

"So… what brings you by this glorious Saturday afternoon?"

Albus sighed and recounted what happened at the jewelry store in Diagon Alley.

"Did you apologize to her?"

"Of course I-" Albus stopped and closed his eyes. He hadn't actually said the words 'I'm sorry.'

"You might what to start there. And then throw in a few, 'Anora's such a slag's."

"I'm not going badmouth my ex! Especially since I've already done that with Daisy."

"Doomsday Daisy? Why'd you bring her into it?"

"Doomsd- you know what? Never mind. And Anora brought her up. Said that Calla's just like her, which is a load of bunk."

"Yeah, Calla is all kinds of bonkers for you, mate." James looked down at Henry who was watching this conversation with interested. "Isn't she, Henry? Isn't she? Yes, she is. Yes, she iiisss," James said in a nauseating voice people usually reserved for babies and animals.

Albus pulled a face which James caught as he looked up. "What?" Albus shrugged. "We'll just wait until Calla pops out one of your sticky little babies and we'll just see how you talk to him."

"Or with any luck her." James' brow furrowed so Albus explained. "If we have a boy before David dies he'll disinherit Calla and leave everything to our son."

"Hmmm… Muggle titles."

Albus snorted, "Yeah, never something I thought I'd have to deal with."

"It would have been simpler had you married Anora, or someone like her."

"I'm not sure how much I like her at all," Albus snapped.

"Can't blame you, mate. Comparing sweet little Calla to Doomsday Daisy-"

"Stop calling her that!"

"Why? It's got a nice ring to it," James grinned and Henry giggled kicking his legs happily.

Albus dropped his elbows to the edge of the crib where his brother and nephew lay. "What's really bothering me is that… Anora's making it sound like I cheated on her with Calla."

"Well that's ridiculous. Calla's your wife and when was the last time you saw Anora?"

"Almost three years ago. Last time she was in the country we were both too busy to meet up," Albus said. "It's like she expected me to wait for her to come live in England again."

"I doubt she would have ever said as much, or, if you had, that she wouldn't have chewed you out for it. But if you had she would have been thrilled, probably really flattered and no doubt would have wed you in a second."

Albus raised his eyebrows at his brother's insight. James looked uncomfortable for a moment before he explained.

"Kira and I just bought a Muggle telly. Calla's been going on and on about all her favorite programs, we got curious so we got one. Only we don't really know how to work it, other than turning it on and off. So all we get to watch is one… chennell I think they call it. And we've been seeing this program called 'Loose Women.' It's just a bunch of birds talking about relationships and shopping and famous Muggles. Anyway I guess some of it has… seeped in."

Albus laughed.

"Doesn't matter, though. I know I'm right. Anora never realistically thought you'd wait for her, but she still hoped you would. So she's finally able to have a real relationship with you and you're not. She's jealous, so she lashed out. And here's the thing, Al. We all know you never cheated on Anora and Calla knows you never cheated on her. So, as far as I can see, all you've got to do is apologize to your wife for the whole kissing thing, get her all wiggly and have a good make up shag."

"I suppose you're right. It doesn't really matter what Anora thinks, does it? It matter's what Calla thinks."

"Exactly."

"You know you really should consider continuing to watch that show. It's done a lot to improve the quality of your advice."

"Yes, well I haven't got much of an option, have I?"

"Oh, I don't know. Calla's probably down stairs right now teaching Kira how to change the channels- that's what they're properly called, by the way."

"How would you know?" James asked, slightly affronted.

"We've got a telly, as well. I quite enjoy watching Muggle comedy programs after work. Takes a load off the mind, let me tell you."

"And how. Now go apologize to your wife. Henry and I have a nap to take then it's off to the bath!"

Albus laughed and made his way downstairs where Calla was in fact showing Kira how to work the telly. She caught his eye and smiled brightly. Maybe James wasn't the only one learning something from Muggle chat shows.


	43. Good Bad Brother

**Chapter Forty Three**

Good/ Bad Brother

Hugo juggled his son, Ron, from one arm to the other as the little guy wiggled with all his might trying, Hugo was sure, to get free from his father. It didn't help that Ron loved trains and there was a big red train in front of them. Ron finally got his little feet against his father's chest and pushed off, leaving Hugo reaching out for his son (having a mild heart attack) while Ruby daftly snatched him up and tucked him securely on her hip, with a firm look the little guy settled down. Hugo glared at his son, but was quickly smiling. He loved that Ruby could keep him in line because if it was left to Hugo he was sure his son would be quite a bit of trouble.

Eleven year old Henry looked up at his brother in law, Hugo could see the nerves the poor guy was trying so hard to hide. Ruby's parents had insisted that Hugo and Ruby come with them to see their youngest son off to Hogwarts for the first time and they had gladly agreed. Hugo remembered his first time boarding the Hogwarts Express and the abject terror that had seized him at the thought of whatever test they did to determine what House you would be in. A hat that could read your mind didn't seem all that bad compared to the horrors he was envisioning (horrors his sister and cousins did nothing to alleviate, he might add). But of course Hugo wouldn't be telling Henry that.

_It is by far better find out on your own_, Hugo thought.

His in laws all huddled around him, looking for support from the one person who knew what to expect. It had been hard enough on all of them walking through a wall, but now they were surrounded by witches and wizards, and owls and flying broomsticks. Hugo understood how it could be a bit overwhelming.

On the other hand, Ruby didn't look all that overwhelmed. Just a bit wistful. Hugo wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her close. He really would have given anything to have made her a witch. Not that he really wanted Ruby to be any different. He loved her just the way she was but it would have made her happy to be a witch. He knew that she felt as though she didn't fit in with his family or his life and that she thought if she was magical like him that things would be different. For his part Hugo thought she was right, but he knew that different didn't necessarily mean better.

As far as he was concerned their life was pretty brilliant. She was in a Master's program at King's College for psychotherapy and he was working his ruddy bum off in the Auror Department (Albus' 'Duke duties' (as James called them) were taking up more and more of his time, meaning that all he really did anymore was paperwork and the odd assignment. All the rest of the work was falling on Hugo and Scorpius (who had _finally_ returned from his honeymoon.)) Sure they were both so busy they'd had to hire a nanny to help with Ron, but they both made sure to set aside time to spend with their son.

Like now. Their witch nanny had the day off, Hugo dumped his paper work on Scorpius' desk and Ruby had faked a cold to get out of class because this moment was important for her brother which made it important to them both. Henry wanted his wizard brother in law there when he finally embarked on his life as a wizard. The years since he first exhibited signs of magic had been difficult for Henry.

Since Hugo's parents had explained what was happening to their son, they were expected to help him control his magical outbursts or at least make sure he understood he couldn't show his power in public. This was something Henry found very frustrating.

Hugo's mother had had to Obliviate countless neighbors because Henry had been seen twirling around midair and laughing gleefully all the while. And then the next week he'd inadvertently Apparated to Hugo and Ruby's London home right out of his mother's arms while they visited a friend of the family. That had been a nightmare because Hugo had had to return the giggling fiend and modify the memories of the Muggles who'd witnessed it.

After that Hugo'd had a long talk with his little brother and things had gotten a bit better. Henry still had bursts of power he couldn't seem to control but they were rarer and spread further apart.

(Of course there was that time Henry had been so angry at a boy living near him that he had turned the slightly older boy into rabbit. A fancy bit of transfiguration that many NEWTs level students had a hard time with. The senior Ron Weasley had managed to turn the boy back and modify the memories of all the Muggles who had seen. Really Hugo was sure that Henry had a bright future ahead of him and he wouldn't be surprised if the bloke made Prefect and then Head Boy and perhaps Minister of Magic some day. With the control he had over his magic Hugo expected great things from him.)

Hugo knelt down to bring his face level with Henry's. "Now, Henry," he said. "You are to be taught how to control your magic, which means that when you come back home for the holidays and the summer you mustn't use your magic at all or you will be in all kinds of trouble, do you understand?"

"Yes, Hugo, but I can use magic on the train and at school, can't I?" he asked, eagerly.

Hugo smiled. "Yes, of course, but not in the halls and keep out of the Forbidden Forest unless you want to get into wallops of trouble."

"Now, how do they figure out which House I go into?"

Hugo snorted. "Nice try, little man. Trust me, it's nothing painful or anything, perhaps a bit embarrassing but nothing to be terribly worried about."

The whistle blew. Henry's face lost all color. "Come now, Henry," his father said.

"Time to get on the train," his mother said choking on her sob.

"Be brave now, Henry," Ruby said, guiding Henry toward the train.

"Write often, sweetheart."

"Mum!" Henry screeched, affronted.

Hugo and Ruby laughed as Henry's pale, mortified face disappeared around the bend. His hand rubbed up and down her back as she curled into his chest. He kissed her head and said, "Just think, love, before you know it we'll be sending little Ron off for his first year."

Hugo heard her give a rather odd croak, he tipped her head back and saw her eyes were filled with tears. Feeling that she was not crying about her brother, he tucked her into his chest and led the way back to the parking lot. Ruby strapped Ron, now fast asleep, into the back seat of their fancy Muggle car while Hugo got into the passenger's side. He didn't know how to drive and hadn't much of an inclination to learn how, but seeing Ruby's puffy red eyes and the wetness on her cheeks he wished he did know. Ruby looked like the very last thing she wanted to do was drive them home.

"Tell me, Ruby," he said.

She wiped her eyes. "You know, Hugo."

"Darling-"

"There's nothing you can say. I don't know that I'll ever feel better about it. My brother is a wizard, my son will be a wizard, my husband is a wizard all of my in laws can do magic- I'm the only-"

"What about Calla?"

Ruby sighed deeply. "I hardly ever see her anymore. She knows how busy I am with my studies and little Ronnie."

"Then how about we go see her and Albus? I'll take Ronnie and drag Al out to the park so you two can talk, yeah?" She jammed the keys into the ignition, unhappily. "We can go home if you prefer?"

"I just don't know if there's anything that'll make me feel better about this," she whispered.

"I don't know what to say," Hugo sighed.

"Just don't say anything."

So Hugo didn't say anything until they got to Albus and Calla's penthouse. With Ron in his arms he followed Albus through the living room towards the kitchen. He saw Calla and Ruby standing side by side before the mirror over the fireplace looking at the giant diamond necklace around Calla's throat.

"What the hell is your wife wearing?" Hugo asked.

Albus looked confused for a second. "Oh, you mean the necklace I got her?"

"So you got that for her? I was worried she'd left you for one of them royals."

"Yes, well it did cost me a fortune, but considering…" Albus transfigured a basket of fruit into small cradle for Ron.

"Considering what?"

"Well… I got into a bit of trouble with my lovely wife today…" Hugo listened in horror as Albus recounted what happened to him that day. "… So I figured I should tell someone other than James because Merlin knows what he'll say happened."

"Good Lord, he's a genius."

"Who, James?" Albus asked, his mouth hanging open.

"Yes. All I have to say is that I'm sorry. Sure she'll probably cry a bit but, for the love of Merlin what else can I say?"

"Say about what?"

"Oh Ruby hates that she's not a witch."

"Well then I reckon there is nothing you can say other than 'I'm sorry.'" Albus said, tickling Ron's belly. "I want one of these."

"What's stopping you? You've been married a while now, I think you've passed the dangerous 'they got married because she got pregnant' gossip."

Albus sighed. "It's Calla's father."

"I'd have thought he'd want a baby. A male baby," Hugo snorted.

"He does and that's the problem. If Calla and I have a son before he dies, he'll leave everything to his grandson. Which is probably the worst thing he could do to a child, according to Calla. She said it was bad enough being his heir while he was still alive, the fact that she'll have to take on most of his duke duties when he passes just makes it worse."

"I thought he wanted you to take on all the duke stuff."

"Well yeah, but I'm not the one actually related to the Rutlands. That's Calla, by all rights she's the one who should be doing the duke stuff. Or duchess stuff, as it were. Of course she's thinking about our son when she thinks about not having kids until her father passes, but I also think she's lived her whole life believing Rutland was her destiny, I think she thinks she deserves it." Hugo scrunched up his forehead in thought, catching his look, Albus added, "I also think she'll never admit it, not even to herself."

"Well I don't know about you, but I think that's a good thing. If Calla can do all the duke stuff you can keep on in the Auror department. Because really Al, the thought of continuing without you and doing all that work on a regular basis is making it hard to sleep at night."

"Really? I'm interrupting your sleep not your son, your not even twelve month old son? Somehow I didn't see that coming."

Hugo snorted. After a moment Albus began laughing and before long the two Auror's were laughing their arses off. The pair of them tapered off eventually only to stop abruptly when they heard the sound of someone Flooing in the living room.

A second later- "Whaa!"

And then, "Rose!"

"Oh my! What's the matter?"

Hugo rushed out to see his sister in Calla's arms sobbing her eyes out. The fireplace blazed green again and out stepped the bane of Hugo's existence. Stephen Wood was promptly punched in the face.

"No!" Rose screeched throwing her arms around Stephen. "Don't hurt my fiancé!"

"Your fia-what?" Hugo yelled. From the kitchen Ron began to cry. Ruby rushed off to see to her son but not before giving her husband a dirty look.

"My fiancé," Rose repeated, face streaked with tears she thrust her hand into her brother's face. On her forth finger was a giant yellow diamond and on her face a giant smile. "Stephen asked me to marry him and I said yes. It was so romantic. He told me Al and Calla helped him pick out the ring and everything."

"You knew about this?" Hugo demanded. "But I thought you were going to talk her into dropping his sorry bum!"

"Hugo!" both Calla and Ruby yelled.

"Well I'm sorry but he should have asked her to marry him when she got pregnant. How do we know he's not just doing this because he feels obligated? How do we know he's doing this because he loves her?"

"This is none of your business, Hugo! I love Stephen and he loves me! You have no right to tell me how to live my life or tell me who I should or shouldn't be with! You're my brother not my keeper, you tosser!"

"We really should settle down, I think-" Ruby began.

"Don't be ridiculous, Rose," Hugo snapped. "I don't think I'm your keeper, but I do think this is a really bad idea. I mean have you even thought about how many times he's hurt you?"

"The first time we broke up it wasn't his fault, but mine! I let Lily get to me and then didn't talk to him about it until after everything had gone to hell." The tears running down Rose's face weren't happy anymore. Stephen wrapped his arms around her and only winced a little when her head fell against his bruised cheek. "It was all my fault."

"Darling, it's all right. We both should have done things differently-"

"Like you should have asked her to marry you eight and half bloody month ago!"

"Hugo! You- Ahh!" Rose wrapped her arm around her stomach and grimaced. "Oh Merlin, Stephen!"

"Now, Rosie?"

"Bloody well, yes now!"

Stephen gripped Rose and Disapparated with a loud POP! Hugo felt a bubbling hot rage in the pit of his stomach. He couldn't believe that Stephen had picked now of all times to propose to Rose. Right before she gave birth. It was unbelievable. It was intolerable. He turned on Albus.

"You helped him with this?" he seethed.

"He got your Dad's permission, Calla and I just helped him pick a ring. And I thought you liked Stephen," Albus snapped.

"I liked him plenty before he knocked up my sister!"

"Your sister is an adult, Hugo," Ruby said. "It's her choice who she spends her life with, you can't make that choice for her."

Hugo clenched his jaw and banged his head against the wall. "I just can't stand the thought of her getting hurt by him again. I don't know why but I just think she's getting her hopes up. Just because he asked her to marry him doesn't mean he actually will and she'll have gotten her hopes up for nothing."

"That's a risk Rose is willing to take and one you have to support," Ruby said. "Come on we have to get to the hospital."

Hugo rubbed his forehead. "I can't support this, I can't sit back and watch him hurt her knowing all the while that it'll be us who has to clean it up. You guys go."

"Don't be ridiculous, Hugo," Ruby snapped.

"I'm not being ridiculous."

"Yes you are, Hugo. She's your sister and it's your job to support her whether you like her choices or not and I am not going to sit idly by while you destroy your relationship with your sister. You and I are going to be with your sister while she has her baby, you idiot!"

"Ruby!"

"No! You will set a good precedent for your son. If we have a daughter would you really want Ron to abandon her just because he doesn't like who she's with or would you want him to stand by her side in her time of need and be there for her should she need him?"

Sometimes Hugo really hated Ruby's studies. This was one of those times. He knew she was right, she knew she was right, he hated it and refused to admit it. Instead he took her into his arms and Apparated to St. Mungo's so he could be there for his sister.


End file.
